Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-11-01

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 people think that owning a house is very significant then renting one. It might be because rents in few countries can be significantly higher and in long-term they can be equal to the value of the house. I think so it is a negative situation as it creates un-necessary economic pressure on people to buy homes that they can never afford.

Firstly, owning a house is not easy in any country as it requires a lot of investment and money. People spend their whole lives trying to own a house. Although some people argue that they can lease the house, but it is not as easy as it looks, as one will have to pay a significant portion of their income for 20 to 30 years. During this period the owner will have to sacrifice a lot of things. For example they might not be able to fund their childrens higher education as a result their child future will be insecure. Rents are much cheaper and viable option as bigger families can share rents and live in same house for lower expense.

Secondly, it is believe that if a person will own a home his rent expense would be saved. But in reality the scenario is quite different as owning a home has more expenses. Higher bills for electricity, water and gas will be charged as compare to the bills they recieve on rent. They would have to spend money on the renovation of the house once in a year atleast for repairing or maintaining the house.

In conclusion, renting a house is much better than owning one. Owning a house is difficult and requires huge amount of money. It is positive to live in a rent house , save money and spend that money wisely on future rather than on impossible things.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You answer both parts of the question: you suggest that high rents and long-term housing costs encourage ownership, and you clearly state that this pressure is negative. The discussion of financial strain is relevant, especially the point that mortgage payments may limit a family’s ability to fund a child’s education. However, the reasons people value ownership are only briefly explained, and some claims are not fully supported. For example, the opening mentions rents becoming equal to a house’s value, but this comparison is not clarified; the later point about higher utility bills for owners also needs explanation. Develop the causes more directly and distinguish the perceived benefits of ownership from the costs you use to support your position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. “Firstly” and “Secondly” signal the main points, and the conclusion restates your view, so the reader can follow the general progression. Some links between ideas are less clear or feel mechanical. In the first body paragraph, the discussion moves from leasing to education costs and then to shared rent without fully explaining how each point connects. The contrast introduced by “But in reality” is useful, although the paragraph could more clearly separate the belief about saving rent from the actual costs of ownership. Use clearer referencing and add brief transitions that show how each example supports your argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate your main ideas, including “investment,” “economic pressure,” “higher education,” “renovation” and “maintaining.” There is some variety in how you describe costs and housing, but several choices are imprecise or unnatural, such as “significant then renting one,” “viable option,” and “live in same house for lower expense.” Spelling and word-form slips, including “recieve” and “believe” where “believed” is needed, also reduce accuracy. Aim for more natural collocations and precise expressions when comparing renting with ownership. For example, describe renting as a “more affordable option” and say that owners “pay utility bills” rather than that bills “will be charged.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses beginning with “Although,” “as,” and “once,” and most of your meaning remains understandable. However, some complex constructions are not controlled accurately. For example, “Although some people argue that they can lease the house, but…” combines two contrasting structures; use either “Although…” or “Some people argue…, but…”. Other errors include “it is believe,” “if a person will own,” “their child future,” and missing articles or plural forms in phrases such as “a lot of investment and money.” Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly around introductory examples. Practise accurate conditional forms, agreement, articles and sentence boundaries while retaining your attempts at complex sentences.

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