Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-20

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 many developing countries, buying a house is the top priority of the citizens instead of renting it out, as it provides financial security and stability to them. In my opinion, this is a positive approach because people are free from paying monthly rent to the landlords. Similarly they have freedom to do anything without the involvement of the land owners.

One of the main reasons for supporting this situation is that the homeownership leads to positive outcomes, as people become financial secure and stable during the residency. As a result, they do not get overwhelmed for paying rental payments and can easily manage their household expenses. For instance, People need to pay rent on monthly basis to the land owners and they often get stressed when they are unable to manage the expenses.

Another advantage of owning a house is that people live independently, so they are not restricted to live according to the protocols of the house owners. Consequently, people feel independent to do anything according to their own desire. For example, They are free to renovate the house according to their needs and planning. Therefore, the stated reasons highlight the positive side of owning the house.

In conclusion, Renting a house requires people to pay rent every month, which can increase their living expenses. Therefore, according to my perspective this is a positive approach to purchase a house, because people do not need to pay to the owners. furthermore, they have freedom to do anything without the involvement of property owner.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both parts of the prompt: you give reasons for preferring ownership, including financial security and independence from landlords, and clearly state that you see this as positive. The examples about managing rent and renovating a home are relevant. However, the reasons are repeated rather than fully developed: the introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion return several times to avoiding rent and having freedom. The explanation of why homeownership is especially important in some countries is also limited; the response refers to developing countries but does not explain the cultural, economic or social factors behind this preference. Develop each reason with a distinct explanation and a more specific example to make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion, and the main points are generally easy to follow. Linking expressions such as “As a result,” “Consequently” and “For instance” help signal relationships between ideas. However, progression is limited because the same points—avoiding rent and having freedom—are repeated in the introduction, body and conclusion. Some links are mechanical, and “Therefore” is used to restate a conclusion rather than advance the reasoning. The example in the first body paragraph also repeats the point about rent without adding much new information. Organise each paragraph around a distinct reason, then use references and transitions that show how the explanation develops.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “financial security,” “household expenses,” “renovate” and “independently.” However, the range is limited by repeated wording such as “freedom,” “rent” and “positive,” and several expressions are unnatural or imprecise. For example, “financial secure” should be “financially secure,” while “rental payments” and “paying rent” recur without much variation. “Protocols of the house owners” is not a natural way to describe a landlord’s rules. Aim for more precise collocations and a wider range of terms for ownership, housing costs and autonomy; this will make the argument sound clearer and more controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “because,” “as” and “when,” and the overall meaning is usually understandable. However, errors occur in basic sentence patterns and reduce accuracy. For example, “people become financial secure” needs an adverb (“financially”), and “they do not get overwhelmed for paying” has an incorrect construction; use “they are not overwhelmed by paying.” In “people are free from paying monthly rent,” the phrasing also needs a more natural grammatical pattern, such as “free from having to pay monthly rent.” Capitalisation is inconsistent after full stops (“People,” “They,” and “furthermore”). Practise accurate clause construction, articles and punctuation while varying sentence forms.

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

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