Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-05

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In some countries owning a home rather than renting one is very important for people. Why might this be the case? Do you think this is a positive or negative situation?

Student answer (Band 5.5)

There are countries where having your own house is an essential thing and not renting a home. Having your own home is a positive thing no matter the country. For instance, in South Asian countries, having your own house is a blessing.

In some countries, owning your house is not a minor thing. It acts as both collateral and security for people. For instance, people can sell it in the time of need. On the other hand, many people use their own house as collateral as well when faced with adversity.

Secondly, living on a rented home is stressful. The tension of paying the rent on time or being ousted from that home makes a lot of difference in why people prefer their own home in some countries. Owning your own home means that even when faced with financial strains or problems, you still have your home. Furthermore, you don't have to worry about paying the rent.

The positive outcome of having your home is that there comes a point where you don't have to pay the rent or mortgage anymore. The cycle of paying continuous rent breaks at some point. On top of that, you have your own house. Your children can inherit and do not have to worry about running late on the rent as well.

People prefer to possess their own house rather than spending their whole life living in a rented place. In some countries, having your own home is a basic necessity of life and not a luxury.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the two parts of the prompt by discussing why homeownership is important and giving a clear viewpoint that it is a positive situation. However, the development of ideas remains limited and under-developed. For instance, the point about a house acting as collateral is introduced twice without significant extension or deep exploration. Similarly, the discussion on financial stress and the eventual end of the mortgage cycle touches on valid points, but these ideas lack specific examples or deeper elaboration. To move to a higher level, the writer needs to extend their arguments further, providing more comprehensive explanations and avoiding repetitive points across body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some organisation evident in the text, with clear paragraph breaks separating the introduction, body ideas, and conclusion. However, there is a lack of clear overall progression between the ideas, leading to a somewhat repetitive structure where similar points about financial stress and owning versus renting are revisited. Cohesive devices are used, but they tend to be basic or slightly mechanical, such as 'For instance', 'On the other hand', and 'Secondly'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the transitions between sentences do not always flow smoothly. To improve in this criterion, the writer should ensure each paragraph introduces a distinctly new aspect of the topic and employ a wider, more natural range of cohesive links to connect ideas logically.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, with simple terms repeated throughout the essay, such as 'house', 'home', and 'rent'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'collateral', 'adversity', and 'financial strains', but these are handled with some inaccuracy in collocation or style, like 'living on a rented home' instead of 'living in a rented home'. Spelling is generally accurate, but the limited range of lexical items and repetitive phrasing restrict the score. To achieve a higher band, the writer should incorporate a broader variety of precise vocabulary and natural collocations suited to academic discussions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay displays a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and basic complex forms. There are frequent errors in grammar, including prepositions and word forms, such as 'living on a rented home', 'in the time of need' instead of 'in times of need', and 'do not have to worry about running late on the rent as well'. Attempts at complex structures are sometimes faulty or repetitive in pattern. While these errors rarely completely obscure the intended meaning, they are frequent enough to cause some difficulty for the reader. To progress, the writer must incorporate a wider variety of complex grammatical structures and improve overall accuracy in prepositions and clause coordination.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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