Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-17

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)

In some countries owing a home rather then renting one is very important for people due to several reasons such as financial pressure. I think this is a positive situation.

So, owning a home can have many advantages over renting a house. People prefer owning a house because there is no pressure of having rent ready at the end of the month to give to the landlords. If they rent a house they will have to live under pressure of paying all the bills on time and informing landlords about it. Sometimes the landlords might want to use their house so they send a short notice to empty the house as soon as possible.

Owning a house is very different from renting a house. You can make changes to your house according to your taste but you cannot do that with a rented appartment or house. The changes may be to the walls, floors or cabinets. Landlords usually dont allow to make changes to their house. One might want to change the colour of the walls in his rented house but he cant do so.

Furthermore, in my opinion owing a home is a positive mindset many people have since its much more comfortable. You are free from any pressure that landlords usually give. In addition, you do not have to worry about damaging a wall or any part of the house. You can make changes as you please.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You give a clear opinion that home ownership is positive and offer relevant reasons, including avoiding rent-related pressure, having greater security from a landlord’s notice, and being able to personalise a property. These examples show an understanding of the topic. However, the response addresses the reasons people value ownership more than it explains why this is important in some countries, and the positive/negative discussion is brief and largely repeats the same benefits. The ideas are therefore limited and under-developed. The response is also 11 words below the required minimum, so it does not meet the task’s length requirement. To strengthen the answer, explain the country-specific reasons—for example, housing costs, cultural expectations, or investment—and develop each point with a consequence or example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, paragraphs about financial security and personalising a home, and a concluding opinion. The ideas within each paragraph are generally related, and connectors such as “Furthermore” and “In addition” help signal development. However, progression is limited because the final paragraph repeats the earlier points about pressure and making changes rather than drawing the argument together or adding a distinct reason. The opening “So” is an informal and somewhat mechanical transition, while “Owning a house is very different from renting a house” does not clearly guide the reader to the paragraph’s main point. Use clearer topic sentences and make each paragraph advance a separate part of the answer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “landlords,” “bills,” “notice,” and “changes,” and phrases such as “according to your taste” are relevant. However, the range is limited and several expressions are repetitive, especially “owning a house,” “renting a house,” and “make changes.” Some word choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “owing a home” for “owning a home,” “positive mindset” for a positive situation, and “rent ready.” Spelling errors such as “appartment” and “dont” also reduce accuracy. Build a wider set of precise housing-related expressions and check spelling and collocations during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use mostly straightforward sentence patterns and attempt some longer structures, including “People prefer owning a house because…” and “Sometimes the landlords might want to use their house so they send…”. The main meaning is generally understandable, but control is uneven. For example, “they send a short notice to empty the house” has an unclear subject and an awkwardly formed clause, while “Landlords usually dont allow to make changes” omits the object needed after “allow.” There are also punctuation and apostrophe errors, including “dont” and “cant,” and the sentence joined with “so” would be clearer with stronger punctuation. Practise varying sentence structures while checking clause construction, verb patterns, and punctuation.

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