Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-07-29

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In many places, new homes are needed, but the only space available for building them is in the countryside. Some people believe it is more important to protect the countryside and not build new homes there.

What is your opinion about this?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

 

Student answer (Band 7.0)

In today's fast growing economy housing has become a major issue in many metro cities around the world as population is growing at a rapid rate and the cities are running out of space to build housing to accommodate the growing population.

This has turned the attention of many contractors and real estate companies towards the country side for building homes.

Many people believe that countryside should be protected and the land in the countryside should not be used to build homes as it can lead to decline in the land available to farming and other livelihood activities carried out by the farmers who reside in the countryside.

In my opinion the countryside should be protected from building homes as most of the countryside land is being used for farming. Apart from that development of homes in the countryside can lead to other problems like traffic which can in turn increase the amount on noise and air pollution in such areas. For e.g. one of my friends move to countryside a few years ago to get away from the fast life of the city and the problems associated with it but now due to the development of more homes in his area the same problems have started arising in the countryside that were once witnessed only in cities

Another reason why countryside should not be used to built homes is in some areas providing basic necessities like water and electricity could be a challenging task for the government. Most of the countryside areas are far away from the cities and if someone is residing in a countryside area it can be difficult for the person to get emergency medical assistance.

In conclusion I believe that homes should not be built in countryside as it can invite a lot of environmental and social problems.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. The arguments regarding agricultural land loss, environmental impact, and infrastructure challenges are relevant and logically developed. The inclusion of a personal example adds depth to the argument. However, the development could be further enhanced by exploring the counter-argument (the need for housing) more thoroughly to provide a more balanced perspective, which would elevate the response to a higher band. Overall, the ideas are well-supported and the position is consistent.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, such as environmental concerns or infrastructure issues. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Apart from that', 'Another reason', and 'In conclusion', which help the flow of ideas. However, the transition between some sentences is slightly mechanical, and the use of referencing could be more varied to improve the overall flow. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct points.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to express ideas clearly. There is an attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'infrastructure', 'livelihood', and 'emergency medical assistance'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of repetitive phrasing. Some collocations could be more precise, such as 'fast growing economy' (should be hyphenated) and 'built homes' (should be 'build'). To reach a higher band, the student should incorporate more sophisticated, less common lexical items and ensure accurate word formation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are recurring grammatical errors, such as missing articles ('the countryside'), punctuation issues (missing commas after introductory phrases), and minor tense inconsistencies. For example, 'one of my friends move to countryside' should be 'moved to the countryside'. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Increasing the variety of complex structures and improving proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy would be beneficial.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.