Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-21
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)
In recent decades, the need of new residential areas are proliferating, while the vacant space is only available in the rural areas for this establishment. However some individuals argue that they should not construct new houses in the villages because it essentials to preserve those areas. Although building the homes there has several benefits, I believe countryside areas should not used for housing projects more.
On the one hand, supporters of this view suppose that the rural areas have sprawled non-residential areas which can easily utilized for living purposes. This is because metropolitian cities are often congested and the engineer can only add the extra floor but hardly find new place for the construction. Consequently, the villages can easily support to overcome the problem of scarcity of housing crisises.
On the other hand, I believe that this strategy can put adverse impact on the living standard of villagers. Although non-residential land is considerable more in the villages, this property is mainly belong to the agriculturists who use it grow fields. Therefore, it works as a source of income. Apart from this, the environment is also affected by the overutilizing of the land. t
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses the prompt by discussing the debate around building new homes in the countryside, but the position is somewhat confusingly stated in the introduction ("I believe countryside areas should not used for housing projects more"). Furthermore, the response is significantly under-developed due to length limitations. As noted in the length check, the response contains only 193 words, falling well short of the 250-word minimum requirement. This severe under-length prevents the student from fully extending their ideas. Consequently, the task is addressed only partially, which aligns with the descriptor for Band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The text is organized into clear paragraphs, including an introduction, a body paragraph supporting development, and a body paragraph presenting the counter-argument. However, the overall progression is limited by the brevity of the response. Cohesive devices such as "On the one hand" and "On the other hand" are used to structure the text, but referencing is occasionally weak or confusing (e.g., "this property is mainly belong to the agriculturists"). Paragraphing is attempted, but the final paragraph breaks off abruptly with an orphaned letter "t". Overall, the organization shows basic control, fitting a Band 5.5 score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student attempts some less common vocabulary such as "proliferating", "congested", and "agriculturists". However, there are frequent noticeable errors in word choice and word formation throughout the text. Examples include "need of new residential areas" instead of "need for", "should not used" instead of "should not be used", "scarcity of housing crisises" (redundancy), and "use it grow fields" (omission of preposition). These lexical inaccuracies and limitations create some strain for the reader, placing the vocabulary firmly in the Band 5.0 range.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as concessive clauses starting with "Although". However, control over grammar is weak, with frequent errors that occasionally impede understanding. Notable errors include subject-verb agreement issues ("the need... are proliferating"), passive voice errors ("they should not construct" instead of "new houses should not be constructed"), incorrect verb forms ("can easily utilized"), and preposition errors ("put adverse impact on" instead of "have an adverse impact on"). Punctuation and sentence completion are also flawed at the very end of the text. This performance aligns with Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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