Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-29

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)

Some people spend most of their lives living close to where they were born this is very common in many parts of the world. There are so many reasons behind that it has advantages and disadvantages as well.

There are various reasons behind people living close to their hometown. Firstly, when a person is living close to their hometown for a long time, they have very strong emotional connections with their family, friends, and neighbours it is very difficult for them to leave that place. So, most people choose to stay in their hometown even when they are grown up.

There are several advantages of staying close to one's hometown one of the reasons is that when a person lives close, if they need any help they can easily ask for help from their family, friends, and neighbours. I have also experienced this thing because whenever i am in trouble, I need some advice, or i need any support my parents are always there for me. They stood by my side.

While if i talk about the disadvantages, there are several disadvantages as well because for instance if a person has grown up and they are not moving out of their hometown, they might be missing so many opportunities that they might avail moving out of their hometown.

For instance, if i talk about myself in my experince, I live in a small city with my parents and after my graduation i still live in this city. In this city, there are very few career opportunities. I am not able to build my future here. Even to pursue further education i have to move to another city because in my city there is no opportunity.

So, in the end, I would conclude this by saying that there are various advantages and disadvantges of staying close to where you were born.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing reasons for living close to one's birthplace as well as both advantages and disadvantages. A clear position and personal perspective are presented throughout the essay. For example, the writer outlines emotional attachments and family support as reasons and advantages, while highlighting a lack of career opportunities as a major disadvantage. However, some ideas tend to be slightly repetitive or under-developed, relying heavily on personal anecdotes rather than broader examples. The response aligns well with the Band 6 descriptor, as all parts are addressed with relevant ideas, though further extension and less generalization would be required to reach a higher band level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, separating the introduction, reasons, advantages, disadvantages, personal examples, and conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Firstly', 'several advantages', and 'while if i talk about', though some referencing and transitions feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. For instance, the opening sentences run together without adequate punctuation ('born this is very common'), resulting in a run-on error that affects smooth progression. Additionally, the pronoun referencing becomes slightly informal and conversational, which detracts slightly from formal academic or general task flow. Overall, the structure is logical and easy to follow, fitting comfortably into a Band 6 score.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, such as 'emotional connections', 'career opportunities', and 'further education'. Less common items are attempted, but there are instances of lexical repetition, such as repeatedly using the phrase 'close to their hometown' and 'there are several disadvantages'. Some word choices are slightly conversational, like 'if i talk about myself in my experince'. Spelling is generally accurate, with only a minor slip in 'experince'. The lexical resource is minimally sufficient to convey the message clearly, matching the criteria for a Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms. However, there are frequent punctuation errors and run-on sentences, such as in the opening lines ('Some people spend most of their lives living close to where they were born this is very common...'). Capitalization errors also occur, such as the lowercase 'i' used independently throughout the text ('whenever i am in trouble'). While complex structures are attempted successfully in places (e.g., 'even when they are grown up'), grammatical errors and lack of control over punctuation persist. Because communication is not impeded despite these flaws, the writing aligns best with Band 6.

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

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