Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-11-04

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)

Owning a home rather than renting one is a priority in the life of people in several countries. They argue that owening a home give them the ability to choose the design they prefer for their houses and make their children guarantee in the future a place to live in. In my opinion, this mindset affects negatively the quality of life of these people and their kids because it took the half of their lives saving money to buy or build a house from scratch.

Firstly, when a person buy a land or a house he will be free to choose the desing he wants and change whatever he desires because that home is his property. But, it is not the same in the case of renting a home. He can just exploit the building according to the contrat between him and the real owner. Furthermore, the parents in some countries such as Algeria like the idea of leaving a home for their inheritants (children) so they will not spend their money in renting and looking for a place to live in.

One of the major downsides of this mindset is that the people of these countries live in a daily pressure saving their money to find a suitable house to buy or a piece of land to build on the home of their dreams. This affacts direclty their life style and they forget to live properly and provide a better education for their kids for example.

In conclusion, owening a home is beautiful because it gives its owner the freedom of choosing its architecture and let an heritage behind him after death. However, in my view this mentality affects negatively quality life of these people and their famillies.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both parts of the question: you explain that ownership offers freedom to alter a home and allows parents to leave property to their children, then give a clear negative view because saving for a house can create pressure and affect family life. These are relevant reasons, and the Algeria example helps make the inheritance point more concrete. However, the explanation of why ownership is important is more fully developed than the evaluation of its effects. The claim that families may neglect their children’s education is introduced but not explained with a specific link or example. Develop this consequence further and weigh it against the security or financial benefits of ownership to make your response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, a paragraph explaining reasons for ownership, a paragraph on its disadvantages, and a conclusion. Sequencing words such as “Firstly,” “Furthermore,” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of the argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes abrupt: the first body paragraph moves from design freedom to inheritance without clearly connecting the two reasons, while the second makes a broad claim about pressure and education without developing the link. Some references, such as “that mindset” and “these people,” are not always precise. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each supporting point explicitly to the main argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “renting,” “property,” “suitable house,” “inheritance,” and “quality of life.” There are also attempts at more specific expressions such as “from scratch” and “daily pressure.” However, spelling errors and inaccurate word choices are noticeable and sometimes make the reader pause, for example “owening,” “desing,” “affacts,” and “famillies.” Some combinations are also unnatural, such as “make their children guarantee” and “exploit the building.” Aim for accurate, natural collocations and check spelling carefully. Replacing these expressions with phrases such as “provide their children with security” and “use the property under the terms of the rental agreement” would make your meaning clearer and more precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a reason clause with “because” and a contrast introduced by “However.” The main ideas are generally understandable, but errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction recur. For example, “when a person buy” needs subject–verb agreement, and “owning a home give them” also has an agreement error. In “it took the half of their lives,” the tense and article are not appropriate for the general claim. The final sentence also has an unclear structure around “gives its owner … and let an heritage.” Review agreement and verb forms, and build complex sentences carefully so that each clause has a clear subject and verb.

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