Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-27

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)

Well, different people have different prespectives on if they should use countryside for building homes or not.I believe with the dynamic changes in the population size all over the world the demand for housing has increased but the space for building them is not vast in the cities so the only vacant place is found in the countryside. However, most people want to preserve it instead.

I strongly believe that with the changes in demand and preferences some people want to live seperate from the city world and lead a life free from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.Whereas, there are certain people in the cities which build mansions and big houses which might be very irrelevant to some because theres barely any space to build homes for other people. Also, the prices of the land appreciates because of which it becomes uneconomical to buy for certain categories. Moreover, countryside is the place which i think is important to be preserved to maintain the sustainability to the planet.Foremost reason is that in cities the pollution is the main problem which causes plenty of diseases and makes it hazardous for survival. So, if most people start moving there the environment will become more worse since its proven that whereever you find humans the results to the mother nature are worse.

Hence, i think its of utmost importance that we try to safegaurd our nature by either controlling our ways of living or by not building properties in countryside since thats the only place saved from destruction until now.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the dilemma of building new homes in the countryside versus protecting natural spaces. The writer clearly states an opinion and presents supporting ideas regarding population growth, housing demand, and environmental preservation. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial and lacks specific examples or concrete data. For instance, the mention of mansions in cities feels slightly disjointed from the main argument about housing shortages and countryside expansion. While all parts of the task are addressed, the arguments would benefit from greater extension and sharper focus on the trade-offs involved in rural development. Consequently, the performance aligns best with the Band 6 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement and a clear stance from the beginning. However, paragraphing is poorly handled, as the entire body of the essay is crammed into a single, massive second paragraph rather than being broken down into logical thematic units. Cohesive devices are used, but they are sometimes mechanical or awkwardly placed, such as 'Whereas, there are certain people' and 'Moreover, countryside is the place which i think'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, making the flow of ideas choppy at times. These organizational flaws and the lack of proper paragraph breaks keep the score at Band 5.5.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate basic ideas about housing demand and environmental protection. There are attempts to use less common items and phrasing, such as 'hustle and bustle', 'appreciates', and 'sustainability to the planet'. However, there are noticeable word-choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'prespectives' instead of 'perspectives', 'seperate' instead of 'separate', and 'prices of the land appreciates' (plural-singular agreement and collocation). Additionally, spelling errors like 'safegaurd' and awkward constructions like 'become more worse' occur. The range is sufficient for the task, but errors restrict the score to Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional clauses ('So, if most people start moving there...') and relative clauses. However, grammatical accuracy is weak. There are frequent punctuation and capitalization errors, such as missing spaces after periods (e.g., 'not.I believe', 'cities.However') and uncapitalized 'i'. Run-on sentences and comma splices are also present throughout the text, notably in '...cities which build mansions and big houses which might be very irrelevant to some because theres barely any space...'. Errors in articles and prepositions further reduce the fluency of the writing. These persistent errors place the grammar firmly in the Band 5.0 range.

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