Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-14

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)

It is often observed among some people are reluctant to leave their birthplace, and choose to spend their whole life closer to their hometown instead. While familiarity and comfort of the hometown are some of the factors behind it, this choice has its own merits and demerits.

People tend to settle easily and build a life in a city that they have known for a quite a long time. It is due to the fact that they are familiar with the neighborhoods, people, city administration, job opportunities, and essential socio-economic factors very well. For example, a teenager who is born and raised in the same place is likely to be employed or would start a business at a very young age because of easy accessibility of the resources in the town. Hence, they don't have to waste time and energy exploring and researching options available in the town. Whereas, they might stay deprived of other promising opportunities available in a metropolitan area away from the hometown.

One of the other factor is that some folks are hesitant to leave comfortable life of their native and build a new one from the scratch. Young generation often finds relocation as exhausting, expensive, and tiresome. For illustration, an individual has to invest a larger share of his savings in renting and shopping for a new home , which is financially excruciating and physically demanding. Therefore, some people stay away from opting it and choose comfort of the hometown.

To conclude, living close to birthplace has its own perks, like enjoying comfort and the familiarity. On the other hand, the exposure and opportunities available are limited.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt: reasons for staying in one's birthplace, as well as the advantages and disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, such as the comfort of familiarity versus the limitation of opportunities. However, the development is somewhat thin. For instance, the discussion on disadvantages could be more robustly supported with specific examples beyond just mentioning 'metropolitan areas'. While the position is clear, the conclusion is quite brief and does not fully synthesize the arguments presented. To reach a higher band, ensure that each point is expanded with more depth and nuanced analysis rather than just stating the ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the reasons from the pros and cons. Cohesive devices such as 'For example', 'Whereas', and 'To conclude' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For example, the transition between the second and third paragraph could be more sophisticated. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear, and the essay maintains a consistent focus throughout.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common collocations, such as 'socio-economic factors' and 'physically demanding'. However, there are instances of awkward phrasing and minor word-choice errors, such as 'comfortable life of their native' (should be 'native place') and 'stay away from opting it' (should be 'avoiding this'). The range is sufficient to convey meaning, but it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. Expanding the range of synonyms and refining collocations would improve the score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. For example, the opening sentence 'It is often observed among some people are reluctant' is grammatically incorrect. Other issues include subject-verb agreement and article usage, such as 'One of the other factor' (should be 'factors') and 'the comfort of the hometown'. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Increasing the variety of error-free complex structures is recommended.

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

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