Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-23
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 5.0)
Having people's own house is very important rather than renting one in some countries.
Owning a house has been a great investment. It assures security to the families rather than arranging funds to pay rent where there is no security regarding long term stay. In Asian region, owning a residence symbolize the element of respect and success. It is a long term investment with good capital gain in term of profit and in term of respect as well. For example, In Pakistan, individual's worth decides how much respect he will get in society.
In contrast, owning house is difficult due to huge funds that are required to build it. Another drawback is you can not move to another city or another location
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0
You identify relevant reasons for home ownership, including financial security, investment, and social status, and you briefly mention the difficulty of raising funds and reduced mobility. However, the response addresses the task only partially: the reasons are stated rather than explained in depth, and the example about Pakistan is not developed. Most importantly, you do not clearly answer whether this is a positive or negative situation; the final paragraph introduces a drawback but does not give a definite overall judgement. The response is also substantially below the required 250 words, which limits the opportunity to develop both parts of the question. To improve, state your position clearly and support each main idea with explanation and a relevant example.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a basic paragraph structure, and the shift from reasons for ownership to a drawback is signalled by “In contrast.” Ideas within the second paragraph are generally related, moving from security to investment and social respect. However, the overall progression is limited: there is no clear introduction establishing your answer to both questions, and the final paragraph ends abruptly without a conclusion. The relationship between the investment point and the Pakistan example could also be made clearer. Develop a fuller sequence—introduction, reasons, evaluation, and conclusion—and use linking phrases to show how each point supports your position. This would make the organisation more complete rather than relying mainly on a single contrast marker.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “investment,” “security,” “capital gain,” and “long term stay,” which helps communicate the main ideas. There is also an attempt to express abstract social value through “respect and success.” However, several phrases are awkward or imprecise, such as “arranging funds to pay rent,” “element of respect,” and “individual's worth decides how much respect he will get.” Repetition of “owning a house” and “respect” also limits the range. Aim for more natural collocations and precise wording, for example, describing home ownership as a source of “financial stability” or “social status.” These improvements would make your vocabulary more flexible and idiomatic while preserving your relevant ideas.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You attempt both simple and more developed sentence forms, including the sentence beginning “It assures security to the families rather than…” and the example introduced by “For example.” The main meaning is usually understandable, but errors in agreement, articles, and sentence construction remain. For instance, “owning a residence symbolize” needs a singular verb, while “owning house is difficult” requires an article. The final sentence, “Another drawback is you can not move…,” would be clearer with a linking structure such as “Another drawback is that homeowners may find it difficult to move.” Work on accurate noun phrases and complete clauses, and practise combining ideas with subordinate clauses. This will help you express the same points with greater grammatical control.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.