Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-18

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)

In this modern era, the birthplace has become an increasingly significant priorty for who want live in a place for long term. The subsequent paragraphs will explore the reasons for this trend, including its benefits and drawbacks with particular emphasis on them before presenting the conclusion.

To begin with, People are emotionally connected with there roots where they want to keep following the rituals of their tradition and culture. This can also help them to live comfortably with their family, childhood friends and society. For instance, Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala lived in his village after he became famous all over the word as a singer.

On the one hand side, individuals have been getting merits of living near by their birthplace to establish their businesses, their other careers and in various ways to become successful. For example, their are a lot of famous local businesses are growing up as time passes, with the help of their wider known locality and friend circle.

On the other hand side, there are some drawbacks of it which people do accept commonly, such as limited opportunities to spread their tradition, culture, businesses and a lot other things, which cannot be fixed later even after regrets. As like, countless local brands are not able to convert their success to an international brand and always get called as local company.

In conclusion, people like to live near by their birthplace where they are surviving without facing financially hardships, even can get support from their natives in numerous ways. However, they tackle with limited opportunities but still people have no complaints from their living place. So it is everyonce personal decision, which they change any time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task prompt by identifying potential reasons why people stay near their birthplaces, as well as outlining both advantages and disadvantages. The student presents a clear position and supports ideas with relevant examples, such as the mention of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala to illustrate emotional and cultural connections. However, some of the ideas lack full extension and development, particularly the discussion around business limitations and global reach, which remain slightly superficial. Concepts like 'limited opportunities to spread their tradition' are introduced but not fully explained. Despite these minor limitations in depth, the main requirements of the prompt are satisfactorily covered, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptor criteria where all parts are addressed with relevant ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognizable introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different facets of the prompt, such as reasons, advantages, and disadvantages. Cohesive devices are employed to guide the reader through the text, such as 'To begin with', 'On the one hand side', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and transitional phrases occasionally feel mechanical or awkward, as seen with 'On the one hand side' and 'On the other hand side' which are non-standard phrasings. Furthermore, logical progression between sentences occasionally falters, particularly in the final paragraph where transitions like 'As like' and 'So it is everyonce personal decision' disrupt the flow and clarity of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student displays an adequate vocabulary range to communicate basic ideas related to the topic, utilizing terms such as 'tradition', 'culture', 'international brand', and 'financial hardships'. However, there are notable lexical errors and awkward word choices throughout the text. For example, 'priorty' is misspelled, 'there roots' contains a homophone error, and 'everyonce' incorrectly combines words. Phrasing such as 'surviving without facing financially hardships' and 'tackle with limited opportunities' demonstrates noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the core message, the frequency of errors places this response firmly at the Band 5 level, where lexical limitations and inaccuracies become apparent and occasionally cause strain for the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though control over complex structures is inconsistent. Examples of complex sentences include 'The subsequent paragraphs will explore the reasons for this trend, including its benefits and drawbacks...' There are, however, frequent grammatical errors, particularly involving prepositions, articles, and subject-verb agreement. Instances such as 'for who want live', 'their are a lot of famous local businesses are growing up', and 'they tackle with limited opportunities' highlight persistent structural issues. Punctuation errors also occur, such as comma splices or missing punctuation in complex clauses. Although these errors do not completely obscure the meaning of the essay, they are frequent enough to prevent the writing from achieving a Band 6.

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

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