Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-19

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)

People usually tend to buy their own homes instead of renting a house.This is so because it is difficult for them to pay rent each month. I argue it's a positive situation because people can save lot of money in this way and a personal home adds emotional value to its residents.

In developed areas, the rents are so high that it's not easy for citizens to pay rents. A large amount of their salaries is spend on giving rents. So many individuals make plan to build their own houses. Although it's a huge financial burden on them to construct their personal homes. But many governments provide various flexible loan schemes to its citizen if they want to construct their own houses. So individuals are in the favour of building their homes because they believe by taking loans they can have their houses in few months and can pay loans easily.

I argue it's a positive development because in this way they can save a lot of money. Because rents are so high in the developed areas and it's a burden for low-income class families to find an owner who don't demand high rent. They can save this money for other useful activities. If a person takes loan from government to construct a house, he can pay his loan with this rent amount. Admittedly, our own house is so important for us emotionally because usually we are living in the same house for decades. And just a thought of leaving it makes us so disturbed and emotional. We feel so connected with our homes that idea of leaving it so scary.

In conclusion, people wish to have their own homes because it's difficult for them to pay rent monthly. It's beneficial for individuals because in this way they can save a lot of money and they also feel connected to their personal homes.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both parts of the question: you explain that high rents make home ownership attractive, and you clearly judge it to be positive because it can reduce ongoing housing costs and provide emotional security. The examples about using a loan and feeling attached to a home are relevant. However, the explanation of why ownership is important is narrower than it could be: the discussion focuses mainly on rent and does not explore other possible reasons, such as stability or investment. The financial argument also needs clearer qualification, since loan repayments and ownership costs may not always be lower than rent. Develop these points with more precise support so that each part of the response is equally convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the reasons and your opinion, and a conclusion that restates your position. The main ideas are generally easy to follow. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes weakened by repetitive linking and abrupt connections. For example, “Although it’s a huge financial burden… But many governments…” uses competing transitions, while several sentences begin with “So” or “Because.” The emotional point also repeats the idea that leaving a home is upsetting rather than extending it with a distinct supporting detail. Use fewer, more precise connectors and make each paragraph develop one clear sequence of claim, explanation, and example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic vocabulary to communicate your main points, including “rent,” “financial burden,” “loan schemes,” and “emotional value.” Some attempts at more specific language are useful, but word choice and collocation are often imprecise or repetitive. Phrases such as “giving rents,” “make plan,” “in the favour of building,” and “useful activities” do not sound natural in this context, and “personal homes” is repeated where more varied wording would help. These choices do not prevent the reader from understanding your argument, but they limit precision and fluency. Build a bank of natural housing-related collocations and check whether each phrase is idiomatic before using it.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional sentence about taking a government loan and a subordinate clause beginning “because.” The overall meaning remains clear, but some errors in sentence construction, agreement, verb forms, and punctuation are noticeable. For example, “A large amount of their salaries is spend” has an incorrect verb form, and “an owner who don’t demand” has a subject–verb agreement error. The fragment “Although it’s a huge financial burden…” is followed by “But,” leaving the relationship between the clauses faulty. There are also missing spaces after full stops and inconsistent apostrophe use. Practise combining dependent clauses into complete sentences and proofread agreement and verb forms.

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

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