Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-13

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people spend most of their lives living close to where they were born.

What might be the reasons for this?

What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

 

Student answer (Band 6.0)

Some individuals prefer to live in the community where they were born and brought up due to convenience . The good part of this is that it helps to strengthen family ties. One major drawback of this kind of situation is that it leads to lack of exposure to other people's culture and way of life.

People tend to establish at their place of birth due to convenience. They are acquainted with various places around that vicinity. Relocating to a new environment can be difficult and stressful. Finding a new apartment and making new friends in a new city can be exhausting. Most people prefer to stay in the town where they were raised to avoid the stress of moving their properties and starting a whole new life in a place where they know nothing about. For instance when I left my place birth for the first time, I found it really hard to adjust to the new environment. I was home sick for a couple days. Making new friends and finding my way around the market and shopping centers was a hard nut crack. It was both physically and mentally draining. Due to the stress involved in changing locations from your birth place to a new city, people tend to stay back and continue with their lives in a place they are already used to.

One major advantage of living close to one's place of birth is that it creates this sense of bond between family members. For instance, I am very attached to my family and we all share a deep sense of bond because I have spent most of my childhood and adult life living close to where I was born.

One important drawback to this kind of lifestyle is that it leads to lack of exposure to different cultures and way of life. Being confined to a particular location will limit your knowledge about different languages, foods, dressing and weather conditions. Traveling to different cities offer opportunities to explore different cultures and traditions .

In conclusion, people choose to live close to their place of birth because of convenience. This kind of lifestyle encourages healthy family ties. However, it also limits people's cultural exposure.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt: it gives convenience as a reason, identifies stronger family ties as an advantage, and explains reduced cultural exposure as a disadvantage. The personal examples about adjusting to a new city and remaining close to family make the discussion relevant. The explanation of convenience is the most developed, while the advantage is supported mainly by a brief personal statement, and the disadvantage would benefit from a clearer explanation of its practical effects. To strengthen the response further, extend these less-developed points with specific consequences or examples, and make the relationship between staying near one’s birthplace and maintaining family ties more explicit. The coverage is complete, but the ideas are not yet equally developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the reason, advantage and disadvantage, and a conclusion. This makes the main line of argument easy to follow. Paragraphing is appropriate, and transitions such as “For instance” and “In conclusion” help signal examples and the ending. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical: “For instance” is used repeatedly, and the conclusion largely repeats the introduction without drawing the points together. Some references are also unclear or shift between “people,” “you” and “I,” particularly in the discussion of moving. Use a wider range of linking and referencing, and keep the viewpoint consistent so that connections between ideas feel smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for discussing relocation, family and culture, and phrases such as “sense of bond,” “cultural exposure” and “physically and mentally draining” show attempts to express ideas with some variety. Meaning remains clear overall. However, several choices are awkward or imprecise, including “establish at their place of birth,” “a hard nut crack,” and “stay back.” There are also spelling or form issues in “home sick” and “birth place,” while “different cultures and way of life” needs more accurate phrasing. Aim for natural collocations and precise forms rather than idioms that do not fit the context. For example, describe people as “settling” in their hometown and say that they “missed home.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses with “because,” “where” and “to avoid,” and most sentences communicate their meaning. Some grammatical errors remain, but they rarely prevent understanding. Examples include the missing article in “leads to lack of exposure,” the incomplete phrase “my place birth,” and the construction “a hard nut crack.” In “Traveling to different cities offer opportunities,” the subject and verb do not agree; “offers” is needed. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing commas after introductory phrases such as “For instance” and extra spaces before punctuation. Review articles, agreement and sentence punctuation, then proofread for these recurring patterns.

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

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