Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-07-25
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 7.0)
Many people choose to spend most of their lives living in the area where they were born.This is often because of strong family ties, familiarity with the local community, and stable employment opportunities. While Living close to one's hometown offers several benefits, It also has some disadvantages, which will be discussed in this essay.
On one hand, Living close to your hometown brings several benefits like Family support and Lower Living costs.Take for example, people who are living close to their home often receive financial support which makes strong family relationships and have better mental support.In addition, people have lower expenses they save money for rent, food and other miscellaneous bills like electricity. However, It helps people to have better life and good health.
On the other side, It has limited career opportunities and less personal growth. For example, If Priscilla Chan's grandparents hadn't been courageous enough to move to the US from their hometown Chan wouldn't have had the opportunity to study at Harvard, let alone meet and marry Mark Zuckerberg. In addition, People may struggle to build a professional network which hinder their professional as well as personal growth. Moreover, smaller towns often have fewer universities and training institutions, which limits educational opportunities for young people who want to pursue higher studies.
In conclusion , living close to one's hometown provides valuable family support and lower living expenses. However, it may limit career and educational opportunities. Therefore, I believe people should carefully consider their personal goals before deciding whether to stay or move elsewhere.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.5 |
| Overall | 7.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0
The response addresses all parts of the prompt: reasons for staying, advantages, and disadvantages. The ideas are relevant and logically grouped. However, the development is somewhat uneven. While the disadvantages section is supported by a specific example (Priscilla Chan), the advantages section relies on general statements like 'lower expenses' without concrete examples. To reach a higher band, ensure that both sides of the argument are equally well-developed with specific illustrations. The position is clear throughout, and the conclusion effectively summarises the main points.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5
The essay is logically organised with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the advantages and disadvantages. Cohesive devices such as 'On one hand', 'In addition', and 'Moreover' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with punctuation and spacing, such as the missing space after the comma in 'In conclusion ,'. Overall, the progression of ideas is easy to follow, and the structure supports the central argument effectively.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task. You use some topic-specific terms like 'professional network', 'educational opportunities', and 'financial support'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of repetitive phrasing, such as 'living close to your hometown' and 'living close to one's hometown'. There are also minor errors in word choice, such as 'which hinder their professional' (should be 'which hinders'). To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated synonyms and collocations to demonstrate a wider range of lexical control.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical inaccuracies, such as 'people who are living close to their home often receive financial support which makes strong family relationships' (awkward phrasing) and 'It helps people to have better life' (missing article 'a'). Capitalisation errors are also present, such as 'Living' and 'Family' in the middle of sentences. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and article usage will help.
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