Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-18

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 5.5)

As there is an increase in demand of new houses, a debate is also becoming famous among people that whether to build houses in the countryside should be avoided to protect the nature around countryside or not. I will explain my personal opinion on this matter.

Firstly, countryside is mainly used by communities for the agriculture; therefore, it is widely not acceptable to occupy agricultural land and use it for houses construction. With the dramatic growth of population in many developing countries, a similar growth in food production should also be inevitable to cope over the demand; however, this demand can not be handled if houses are constructed by occupying the agricultural land. This has been recently noticed in Pakistan, where growth in population has disturbed the housing market.

Secondly, building houses at country would scatter the population all over the region. As communities would grow horizontally towards countryside, governments have to spend on the related infrastructure as well. For example, governments have to spend on schools, hospital and roads in the communities, therefore, building houses in the countryside would cause a major impact on country's budget as well. This can be avoided by constructing houses through apartments in skyscrapers.

Thirdly, birds of many species usually make their nests at the countryside forests. Many other animals and insects also are found in the countryside only, as countryside is usually the main source of their food and pasture.

In conclusion, considering all above factors, while I believe that constructing houses in the countryside is not a detrimental for birds, animals and insects, it is also pose economic pressure on governments to construct more infrastructures, and lastly it reduce the agriculture land which is key for the production of food crops.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task, presenting a clear position throughout. The writer explores multiple angles, including agricultural concerns, infrastructure costs, and environmental protection. For instance, the mention of agricultural land preservation and the example of population growth in Pakistan provide relevant support. However, some ideas lack full extension and suffer from minor contradictions or underdeveloped points—for example, the conclusion somewhat awkwardly states that constructing houses is 'not a detrimental for birds,' which appears to contradict the third body paragraph. Nevertheless, the main arguments are identifiable and directly engage with the prompt. The response meets all task requirements successfully, earning a solid Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear use of sequencing devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'Thirdly', and 'In conclusion'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different arguments. However, cohesion at the sentence level is sometimes mechanical or faulty. For instance, the transition 'building houses at country' is awkward, and referencing in sentences like 'Many other animals and insects also are found in the countryside only' lacks smooth integration. Furthermore, the concluding summary contains a confusing transitional structure ('while I believe that constructing houses in the countryside is not a detrimental... it is also pose economic pressure'). These minor lapses prevent the essay from reaching a Band 7, keeping it firmly at Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'inevitable', 'infrastructure', and 'skyscrapers'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and phrasing throughout the text. Examples include 'demand of new houses' instead of 'demand for', 'houses construction' instead of 'house construction', and 'not a detrimental' instead of 'not detrimental'. Additionally, phrases like 'building houses at country' demonstrate limited control over prepositions. While communication is never impeded and the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning, the frequency of lexical errors restricts the score to Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating conditional and dependent clauses (e.g., 'With the dramatic growth of population in many developing countries, a similar growth in food production should also be inevitable...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'that whether to build houses... should be avoided', 'cope over the demand' instead of 'cope with', and 'it is also pose economic pressure'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but subject-verb agreement and prepositional use show persistent instability. Because the errors occur frequently alongside complex structures without entirely blocking comprehension, the grammar aligns best with Band 6.

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

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