Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-18

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 contemporary society, owning a home is predominantly crucial for people instead of renting one. From my perspective, this belief is totally appropriate for high-income households, but some low-paid households can meet some challenges when it comes to this.

On the one hand, it is clear that owning a home can offer greater flexibility for individuals. To illustrate, if individuals have their own houses, they can freely do everything in it such as repainting or decorating in terms of their hobby. Moreover, they no longer need to pay an extra money, spent for renting house so they can save up that expenditure for improving their quality of life. For instance, in Viet Nam, people have to pay about 120 million dongs per year in order to rent house, which obviously places financial strain on them. Another important point is that individuals can genuinely feel free, paving the way for further refurbishment as well as their welfare.

On the other hand, some families, having low-income have to face several challenges when owning a house. Since the price of houses has increased sharply in recent years, people should take this decision into consideration. What is more, some people migrate from the countryside to metropolitan areas to seek occupational opportunities so they do not need to own a house, which costs highly. For example, an ordinary factory workers has average of fifteen millions Dong per month while purchasing a house can take about two billions Dong, which is multiplying many times as high as his salary.

In conclusion, owning a house is comprehensively convenient, but it is only suitable for high-paid families.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both parts of the question: you suggest that ownership offers freedom to alter a property and avoids ongoing rent, and you discuss affordability and mobility as reasons some people may not buy. Your view is that ownership is suitable mainly for higher-income households, but the response does not clearly decide whether the widespread importance attached to owning a home is positive or negative. The opening calls the belief “totally appropriate” for some people, while the conclusion says ownership is “comprehensively convenient,” leaving the overall evaluation qualified but not fully resolved. Some support is also under-developed: the Vietnam rent and salary figures are presented without explaining how they demonstrate the broader social effects. State a direct positive or negative judgement and develop the reasons more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable introduction, two contrasting body paragraphs and a conclusion, and signposts such as “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” help readers follow the shift in focus. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes loose: the first body paragraph moves from flexibility to rent savings and then returns to freedom and refurbishment, repeating related points rather than building a clear sequence. The connection between the examples and the claims could also be made more explicit. For instance, explain how the rent figure supports the point about financial strain, rather than relying on “which obviously places” to make the link. Use references and transitions more precisely, and ensure the conclusion directly follows from the argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “financial strain,” “occupational opportunities,” “metropolitan areas” and “refurbishment,” which helps communicate the main ideas. However, several word choices and collocations are noticeably unnatural or imprecise, sometimes making the meaning less clear. Examples include “predominantly crucial,” “pay an extra money,” “renting house,” and “costs highly.” Some expressions also repeat the same idea, such as “freely do everything” and “genuinely feel free.” Aim for more natural combinations and precise wording, especially when discussing costs and housing. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the argument, but more consistent control of collocation and word forms would make it clearer and more fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex structures, including conditional phrasing (“if individuals have their own houses”) and a reason clause beginning “Since the price of houses has increased sharply.” These attempts allow you to express causes and contrasts, but errors occur across sentence patterns and can occasionally slow understanding. For example, “some families, having low-income have to face” has a faulty construction, and “an ordinary factory workers has average” contains problems with agreement and sentence structure. Articles and plurals are also inconsistent in phrases such as “rent house” and “two billions Dong.” Work on forming complete, accurate clauses and checking subject–verb agreement, articles and plural forms. Greater accuracy in these areas would make your ideas easier to follow.

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

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