Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-27
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 5.5)
Most of the people spend their precious life where they were born. They do no want to leave their motherland. There are many reasons as well advantage and disadvantage, which will discuss further in below.
The main reason to stay in the same land where the people born is that they have memories from their childhood and they stuck with these lovely memories and they do not want to go far from that land. People also have emotional attachment with that land where they are born because they have good friends from their birth. Some people have there investments in their town where they grew up and they stuck with all these things if they were thinking about to leave that space they get big loss from their properties.
There are some advantage to stay the same ground, firstly they feel it is cheaper because they have their own home. Secondly they have family friends and relatives in the same areas and they do not want to go far from their near and dear. On the other hand, they did not grow in the same city where they born because the population is increased day by day and in the same city they have less opportunity for the work. For example, in the area where they born has a limited number of industry in last decade, but population is almost double in the decade and work opportunity is same. Then they have to leave the birth place.
In conclusion, it is good to stay in the same place, but people have to explore the world and find a space for good opportunity of work for their children as well they have to change a lifestyle.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the prompt: reasons, advantages, and disadvantages. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the reasons for staying (memories, emotional attachment) are mentioned but not fully explored. The advantages and disadvantages are presented, but the explanation of the 'disadvantage' regarding population growth and lack of work is slightly confusing and lacks clear logical progression. The position is generally clear, but the essay would benefit from more detailed examples and a more nuanced discussion to reach a higher band.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into paragraphs, which is a positive feature. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. Phrases like 'which will discuss further in below' and 'stuck with all these things' disrupt the flow. The progression of ideas is sometimes disjointed, particularly in the third paragraph where the transition between advantages and disadvantages is abrupt. While the overall structure is logical, the lack of sophisticated linking words and occasional referencing errors (e.g., 'the same ground') limits the coherence of the response.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks range and precision. There is frequent repetition of basic words such as 'land', 'born', and 'place'. Some word choices are unnatural or incorrect, such as 'stuck with these lovely memories' and 'get big loss from their properties'. The student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary, but the lack of variety and occasional misuse of collocations prevent the response from demonstrating a higher level of lexical control. More precise synonyms and idiomatic expressions would improve the score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'Most of the people spend', 'population is increased'), missing articles, and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'they did not grow in the same city where they born'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable and affect the overall clarity of the writing. A greater focus on sentence structure and proofreading for basic errors is necessary.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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