Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-13
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 6.5)
Some individuals like to live closer or in the place where they were born and bought up. There are several reasons associated with this phenomenon like emotional attachments with the place and family, reduce the travel time and also for the security reason. This trend has both benefits and drawbacks which will be elucidated in the below paragraphs along with my personal opinion.
To commence with, the primary benefits which this propensity render staying closer to the hometown is strong family connections. Since one can attend all the family functions and also take part in the family ritual. Consequently, this establishment help one to stay attached to their culture and traditions. Another merit this fetch is minimising the travel time and also saving colossal of money on travel. For example, people who visit their native which is just 50 miles away would save more travel tickets than the person who travel from 1000 miles away. Finally, living closer to the hometown is secure and safe because of the know environment and familiar people.
On the other hand, this arrangement also have several demerits like less employment opportunities. In result, there will be less personal growth personal growth. Consequently, this impact on ones standard of living and cannot afford to educate their children for the renowned universities or colleges. Furthermore, this endeavours also hammer the privacy in life since it will be common for other family members to travel and stay for the longer duration, unlike the people who stay far away have minimum visitor.
In conclusion, most people choose to live close to where they were born because it gives them a sense of security and makes them a part of society in which they blend quite well. This can have both merits and demerits that we should consider carefully before choosing to live in that place or leave it for another place.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The response addresses all parts of the prompt: reasons for staying in one's birthplace, and the advantages and disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, such as family connections and security, and the drawbacks like limited employment opportunities. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the point about 'personal growth' is mentioned but not fully explored. The position is clear throughout, but the essay would benefit from more specific, nuanced examples to reach a higher band. The structure is logical, and the response stays on topic throughout.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central theme. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To commence with', 'Consequently', and 'On the other hand', which help the flow of ideas. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. There are also minor issues with referencing; for example, 'this arrangement' and 'this endeavours' are slightly awkward in their usage. Overall, the progression of ideas is logical, and the paragraphing is appropriate for the task, making the essay easy to follow.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the student to convey their meaning clearly. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'propensity', 'elucidated', and 'colossal', though some of these are used slightly inaccurately (e.g., 'colossal of money' should be 'a colossal amount of money'). There are also some word-choice errors, such as 'bought up' instead of 'brought up' and 'know environment' instead of 'known environment'. While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise control over collocations and word forms.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('this arrangement also have', 'this endeavours also hammer') and incorrect pluralization ('less employment opportunities' is fine, but 'less visitor' should be 'fewer visitors'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are minor slips throughout. To improve, the student should focus on ensuring subject-verb agreement and refining the use of articles and plural forms to increase the number of error-free sentences.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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