Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-15

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 choose to spend a life where they born. While some individuals prefer to move to different cities or counties. There are several reasons why people remain in their home town. While it brings several advantages and it is also accompanied by noble drawbacks. This essay will examine both the positive and negative aspects of this trend.

One of the most significant benefits of living in hometown is that

people can stay close to their family and close friends and you can also build close relationship with your loved ones. For example, those who live near their parents can easily visit them and help them when they grow older.When you live in hometown that thing allow you to send more time with your family and friends.

Another important factor is financial stability. People have already stable house and stable job or family business in their hometown. That factor lead them to stay where they born because it becomes very difficult to build everything from zero in different cities or counties. If you live in your familiar area you may know locality, community, transport system and services which makes you life more convenient.

However, there are also disadvantages. Firstly, people have lower opportunity of development in education and jobs. In hometown people may get limited option for high paid jobs and higher education.

Living close to parents and relatives may cause some people to rely too much on their families when making decisions. Sometime people make dependent.

In conclusion, living in hometown presents advantages such as financial security, and familiarity with their surroundings however, it may also limit career opportunities and personal growth. In my opinion, people should consider what is beneficial for their growth.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both questions: the essay gives reasons for staying near one’s birthplace, including family ties, an established home or job, and familiarity with local services, then considers benefits and drawbacks. The examples about helping ageing parents and the difficulty of starting again elsewhere make the advantages relevant. However, the reasons for remaining are mostly presented as advantages rather than clearly separated and explained as reasons, and the disadvantages receive less development. The points about limited education and employment options are relevant but would be stronger with a specific example or explanation of their effects. Your conclusion gives a clear overall view, though the recommendation to consider personal growth could be linked more directly to the discussion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure, with an introduction, paragraphs on benefits and drawbacks, and a conclusion. Sequencing is generally easy to follow, and signposts such as “Another important factor,” “However,” and “In conclusion” help guide the reader. Cohesion is sometimes mechanical or unclear, though. The opening repeats “While” in ways that do not form a clear contrast, and the shift from financial stability to familiarity would benefit from a more explicit link. In the disadvantages paragraph, the point about dependence on relatives is introduced abruptly and is not developed. Use clearer links between each reason and its consequence, and organise the reasons and advantages so their relationship is explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “financial stability,” “higher education,” “career opportunities,” and “personal growth.” There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “build everything from zero,” although this is not a natural collocation. Several word-choice and word-form problems reduce precision: “counties” appears where “countries” or “cities” may be intended, “noble drawbacks” is unsuitable, and “send more time” does not express the intended meaning. Repetition of “close,” “hometown,” and “stable” also limits flexibility. Aim for accurate collocations and vary repeated terms; for example, use “spend time,” “limited employment prospects,” and “established home and work” where appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “those who live near their parents” and a conditional structure beginning “If you live in your familiar area.” Meaning is generally recoverable, but some errors in sentence formation and grammar remain. “Some people choose to spend a life where they born” is missing required grammatical elements, while “That factor lead them” has a subject–verb agreement error. The opening fragment, “While some individuals prefer to move…,” is not a complete sentence, and the final sentence of the introduction joins clauses awkwardly. There are also punctuation and spacing problems, such as the missing space after “older.” Practise complete clause structures, agreement, and accurate sentence boundaries.

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