Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-11-02

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)

It is believed that owing a home rather than living in a renting house is crucial for people. This might be the case for specific countries depending on the culture and living style of people. I believe owing a home is a positive situation because it can give people the sense of security and ownership.

There are certain countries such as the Asian countries in which owing a self house is considered the biggest achievement of life for many people. While this trend is less adopted in the western countries, where people prefer to live in small rented houses. There can be certain reasons. The one reason can be the culture of living. In the eastern countries, people have large families and they prefer to live with all family members or we can say that there is the trend of joint families which is less visible in western countries. Moreover, as people had large families they believe that houses should be owned so that they do not have to pay rent. Also due to many family members, rented houses are may not be sufficient for the survival. However, for the small families such as in eastern countries, it is possible.

From my perspective, owning a home is a positive situation. If we own a house we can feel more secure and relaxed as we know this is our house and we can live here for the lifetime. Also we do not need to pay rent every month for our house. For example, a person who has not to pay rent every month can spend their money to any other valuable thing.

In conclusion, owing a home rather than renting is important for people who had large families. This can give them security and relaxation for a lifetime.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear view that home ownership is positive, linking it to security and avoiding rent, and you offer reasons why it may be valued, including family size and cultural expectations. These points are relevant, but the explanation is only partly developed. The comparison between Asian and Western countries is broad and not supported with specific examples, and the sentence about rented homes being insufficient for large families needs clearer explanation. Your conclusion repeats the security point but does not fully draw together the reasons or address the contrast in preferences. Develop each reason with a more precise explanation or example, and keep the positive/negative judgement explicit throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph explaining possible reasons, a paragraph giving your opinion, and a conclusion. This helps the reader follow the main direction. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven, and some links are mechanical or unclear. For example, “There can be certain reasons. The one reason can be…” repeats the idea rather than moving it forward, while “However, for the small families such as in eastern countries” is difficult to connect to the preceding comparison. The conclusion also largely repeats earlier points. Use clearer topic sentences, connect each supporting detail directly to its main idea, and make references such as “this trend” and “this” more precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate your main ideas, including “security,” “ownership,” “joint families,” and “pay rent.” There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “sense of security” and “valuable thing.” However, several word choices and collocations are noticeably inaccurate or repetitive, which makes parts of the response less natural: “owing a self house,” “living in a renting house,” and “for the survival” are examples. “Owing” is also repeatedly used where the intended meaning is home ownership. Build a more precise range around housing and family arrangements, and check whether words combine naturally. The suggested alternatives below can help make your argument clearer and more academic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “countries in which…” and a conditional structure in “If we own a house…”. The main message is generally understandable, but errors recur in sentence construction and verb forms. For example, “rented houses are may not be sufficient” has an incorrect verb pattern, and “people who had large families” uses a past form where the general present is needed. There are also problems with articles and agreement, as in “the biggest achievement of life” and “a person who has not to pay rent.” Work on forming negatives and modal constructions, maintaining consistent tense for general claims, and checking articles and subject–verb patterns. More accurate complex sentences would improve control.

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