Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-12

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)

There is a huge debate on the topic that a few individuals prefer to spend their life on their birthplace. One most significant reason is emotional attachments with place because they have numerous childhood memories associated with birthplace. This essay will examine the reasons of this behaviour along with the merits and demerits of living life near place of birth in the upcoming paragraphs.

To commence with reasons of people spending their lives living near area where they born, the first and formost reason is that individuals have emotional attachments with place because they have numerous childhood memories with their parents and siblings on this place. In addition to that, their parents have been living in this area for many years. For example, some people settle in abroad but they still want to spend some time in their birthplace whenever they come on vacation in their home country. Consequently, individuals are emotionally attached with their place of birth because it remind them about the childhood time.

On the other hand, there are many advantages and disadvantages of people living close to place where they born. The most prominant benefit of living near place of birth is that it refresh the mind of person, and remind him the childhood memories with parents, and siblings which make their bond stronger. Moreover, demerit of this behaviour is that they can miss many oppotunities like better study and job because over emotional behaviour make them weak. Due to confort zone, they will prefer to study and work in their hometown which can have negative impact on the career.

In conclusion, although there are many reasons to stay near to place of birth such as emotional attachments with area and parents, its negative effect on person education and career

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions and give a relevant central reason: emotional ties to childhood memories and family. The example of people who settle abroad but return to visit their birthplace helps illustrate this point. You also identify an advantage—stronger family bonds—and a disadvantage involving missed education and career opportunities. However, these points are only briefly explained, and the discussion of reasons largely repeats the same idea about emotional attachment rather than exploring other possible causes, such as family responsibilities or financial constraints. The conclusion is incomplete and does not clearly summarise both sides or state an overall view. Develop each main point with a clearer explanation or example, and finish with a complete conclusion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, a paragraph on reasons, a paragraph covering advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. Sequencing is generally understandable, and signposts such as “To commence with,” “In addition to that,” and “On the other hand” help show the intended relationships between ideas. However, some linking is mechanical, and the second body paragraph moves quickly from a benefit to a drawback without developing either in a balanced way. Repetition of the emotional-attachment idea also limits progression. References such as “this behaviour” and “it” are not always precise, and the final sentence stops before completing the conclusion. Use clearer links between each claim and its explanation, and ensure the ending is complete.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some topic-relevant vocabulary, including “emotional attachments,” “childhood memories,” “opportunities,” and “negative impact on the career.” These choices make the main ideas understandable. However, the range is limited and several phrases are repeated, especially “place of birth” and “emotional attachments.” There are also noticeable spelling and word-choice problems, such as “formost,” “prominant,” “oppotunities,” and “confort zone,” as well as unnatural combinations like “refresh the mind of person” and “come on vacation.” These errors sometimes make the reader pause, although the overall meaning remains recoverable. Build a wider set of natural expressions for family ties, local roots, and career prospects, and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a relative clause in “where they born” and a reason clause beginning “because.” The overall meaning is usually clear, but errors in sentence structure and grammatical forms recur. For example, “where they born” needs an auxiliary verb, “it remind them” has incorrect subject–verb agreement, and “the most prominent benefit … is that it refresh” also needs agreement. Articles and prepositions are often missing or inaccurate, as in “with place” and “near place of birth.” The conclusion is also an incomplete sentence. Practise accurate clause construction, agreement, and article use, then proofread each sentence for a complete subject and verb.

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