Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-12

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 5.0)

Building new houses are always been a debatable topic across the globe. In villages, there is lot of land available to build houses where some people prefer not to destroy them for such materialistic thing as it can impact the nature adversely. Also, in my opinion, we should not use countryside area for homes.

There are multiple reasons why I believe that we should not create houses in rural area. First of all, it increases the pollution. Building houses may incorporate some activities which directly or indirectly causes the pollution there. For example, building home involves activities like drilling, digging, etc. which creates air pollution. Therefore, it affects the good quality air in the countryside and impact the health of the human being there.

The another major reason for not building house in rural area is limited accessibility to recreational activities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, stopping abruptly at only 141 words. As a result, the development of ideas is severely restricted. While the writer manages to state a clear position in the introduction ('we should not use countryside area for homes') and introduces some relevant arguments such as environmental protection and pollution, the third paragraph is left as a single incomplete sentence ('The another major reason for not building house in rural area is limited accessibility to recreational activities.'). This lack of extension and under-development across the essay places it firmly in the lower bands for Task Achievement. To improve, the writer must ensure all body paragraphs are fully fleshed out with detailed explanations and supporting examples, while strictly meeting the length requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into short paragraphs, which helps establish a basic structure, but the lack of completion heavily impacts overall coherence. The introduction sets out a stance, and the first body paragraph attempts logical sequencing using cohesive devices like 'First of all' and 'For example'. However, the final paragraph consists of only one disconnected sentence, failing to provide a logical progression or conclusion to the piece. Referencing is generally clear, but the lack of body content prevents any sustained logical flow. Paragraphing is attempted but ultimately undermined by the truncation of the response. To score higher, the writer needs to ensure every point raised is fully developed into a cohesive paragraph supported by a concluding thought.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally basic and repetitive, with frequent reliance on simple terms such as 'build houses' and 'rural area'. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'materialistic thing' and 'adversely', but word choice and collocation are sometimes awkward, for instance, 'good quality air'. Additionally, there are noticeable lexical errors, such as 'The another major reason' instead of 'Another major reason'. While the vocabulary is adequate to convey simple meaning, the limited range and occasional errors prevent the response from reaching higher bands. The student would benefit from incorporating a wider variety of precise nouns, adjectives, and idiomatic phrases appropriate to the topic of urban development and environmental conservation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though accuracy is inconsistent. There are noticeable grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues in the opening sentence ('Building new houses are always been...'), where 'Building' requires a singular verb. Other errors include article misuse ('causes the pollution' and 'impact the health of the human being'). Although some complex structures are attempted successfully, frequent basic errors persist and the truncated nature of the text limits the variety of grammatical structures demonstrated. To improve, the student should focus on basic agreement rules, correct article usage, and ensuring that all sentences are fully completed with accurate punctuation.

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