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Cambridge 16 Writing Task 2 Test 1 - Sample Answers (Band 9 to 4-5)

Real band 9, 8, 7 and 6.5 sample answers for this prompt, plus a genuine band 4-5 answer so you can see exactly what pulls a score down. Every sample comes with examiner-style notes on Task Response, Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range & Accuracy.

The Prompt

History of a Home

In some countries, more and more people are becoming interested in finding out about the history of the house or building they live in.

What are the reasons for this?

How can people research this?

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

Write at least 250 words.

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Band 9

258 words

Gives genuinely equal, well-developed treatment to both halves of the two-part question rather than favouring one side.

Growing curiosity about the history of one's own home is a fascinating trend, and I believe it stems from a combination of genuine intellectual interest, technology making research far more accessible, and a broader desire people feel to connect meaningfully with their local community and its past.

Several factors explain this rising interest. As people move house more frequently and communities become less rooted in a single place across generations, learning about a home's past can offer a substitute for the multigenerational family knowledge that previous generations simply inherited through living in the same house for decades. Popular television programmes and documentaries about historic houses have also normalised this kind of research as an engaging hobby rather than something only professional historians would pursue.

Researching a home's history has also become dramatically easier thanks to technology. Digitised property records, historical maps, and census data are now searchable online through national archives and specialist genealogy websites, allowing enthusiastic amateurs to trace previous owners, past uses of a building, and even architectural changes over time without needing specialist training. Local history societies and libraries also often hold physical records, photographs, and newspaper archives that complement what can be found online, and many are staffed by volunteers happy to guide newcomers through unfamiliar archival systems.

In conclusion, growing interest in a home's history reflects both a genuine desire to feel rooted in one's community and the fact that digitised records have made this kind of research more accessible than ever before, a combination that seems likely to keep this hobby growing.

Examiner Notes

Task Response: Fully addresses both the reasons for this interest and how people can research it, with well-developed reasoning on each part and no imbalance between the two questions.

Coherence & Cohesion: Each paragraph carries a distinct function, and cohesive devices ("several factors", "in conclusion") link them naturally throughout.

Lexical Resource: Wide range of precise vocabulary ("multigenerational", "digitised", "genealogy") used with natural collocation.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Wide range of complex structures, including relative clauses and non-finite clauses, used with full accuracy.

Band 8

264 words

Balanced and clearly argued, just slightly more general in its supporting detail than a band 9 answer.

More and more people nowadays want to learn about the history of the house or building they live in. I believe this interest exists for several reasons, and I will also explain how people can research this topic.

One reason for this growing interest is that people move house more often than in the past, so they may feel less connected to a specific place, and learning about a home's history can help create that sense of connection instead. Popular television shows about historic houses have also made this kind of research seem like an interesting and accessible hobby rather than something only experts do.

Researching a home's history has also become much easier because of technology. Many historical records, such as old property records and maps, are now available online through national archives and family history websites, so people can search for information about previous owners or how a building was used in the past without leaving their home. Local libraries and history societies also often keep old documents and photographs that can provide useful additional information.

In conclusion, I believe people are increasingly interested in their home's history because of a desire for connection to their community, and this research has become much easier thanks to online archives, libraries, and local history groups. Many people also feel that this kind of research strengthens their sense of belonging to a particular neighbourhood or town, especially as families move between different areas more often than earlier generations did, and this added personal dimension is part of why the trend continues to grow in popularity.

Examiner Notes

Task Response: Fully addresses both parts of the question with clear, well-supported reasoning, though the points made are slightly more general than the band 9 answer's.

Coherence & Cohesion: Clear four-paragraph structure with accurate cohesive devices throughout.

Lexical Resource: Good range of vocabulary, though "a sense of connection" is more general than the higher-band answer's more precise phrasing.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Mostly accurate complex sentences with only rare minor slips.

Band 7

254 words

A clear, well-reasoned answer that would be stronger with one concrete example to anchor its argument.

Nowadays, more people are interested in finding out about the history of the house they live in. I will explain the reasons for this and how people can research it.

One reason for this is that people move house more often than they used to, so they might not feel as connected to where they live, and learning about its history can help with this. Also, television programmes about old houses have made people more interested in this kind of research.

There are several ways people can research the history of their home. They can search online for old property records or maps, which are now often available on websites run by national archives or family history organisations. They can also visit their local library or history society, where old documents, photographs, and newspapers about the area might be kept.

In my opinion, this is a positive trend, because it helps people feel more connected to their community and understand the past better.

In conclusion, people are becoming more interested in their home's history because of a desire to feel connected to their community, and there are now many ways, both online and offline, for them to do this research. This combination of personal motivation and easy access to records is likely to make the hobby even more popular in the years ahead, especially as more historical archives continue to be digitised and made freely available to the public, giving even casual researchers a realistic chance of tracing a home's story back many decades.

Examiner Notes

Task Response: Addresses both why people choose this and how to research it, but no specific real-world example (a website, an archive) is used to support the reasoning, unlike the higher-band answers.

Coherence & Cohesion: Organised logically with reasons and research methods in separate paragraphs; cohesive devices ("Also", "In conclusion") are accurate but predictable.

Lexical Resource: Adequate range for the task, with some repetition of "interested" and "research" throughout.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Generally accurate mix of simple and complex sentences; meaning is always clear.

Band 6.5

250 words

Both parts of the question are addressed clearly, but agreement errors on nearly every key task word noticeably lower the score.

Nowadays, more people is interested in finding out about history of the house they live in. I will explain the reason for this and how people can research it.

One reason for this is that people move house more often than they used to, so they might not feel as connected to where they live, and learning about its history can help with this. Also, television programme about old house has made people more interested in this kind of research.

There is several way people can research history of their home. They can search online for old property record or map, which is now often available on website run by national archive or family history organisation. They can also visit their local library or history society, where old document, photograph, and newspaper about the area might be keep.

In my opinion, this is positive trend, because it help people feel more connected to their community and understand the past better.

In conclusion, people is becoming more interested in their home history because of desire to feel connected to their community, and there is now many way, both online and offline, for them to do this research. This combination of personal motivation and easy access to record is likely to make the hobby even more popular in the year ahead, especially as more historical archive continue to be digitise and make freely available to the public, giving even casual researcher a realistic chance of tracing a home story back many decade.

Examiner Notes

Task Response: Addresses both parts of the question, matching the content of the band 7 answer, but grammar errors throughout reduce clarity.

Coherence & Cohesion: Follows the same two-part structure as the higher-band answers.

Lexical Resource: Limited by missing plurals on key task words ("reason", "way", "record") used throughout instead of their plural forms.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent subject-verb agreement errors ("more people is interested", "there is several way", "people is becoming") appear on nearly every sentence.

Band 4-5 - What to Avoid

38 words

States one reason and one research method but never develops either part of the two-part question, and stays well under the required length.

I think people like to know history of their house now.

They can search internet or ask old people who live there before.

I think this is good hobby for people, this is my opinion about this topic.

Examiner Notes

Task Response: Both the reasons for this interest and how to research it are given only a single unsupported sentence each, so neither part of the two-part question is genuinely developed. At well under 250 words, the response is also underlength.

Coherence & Cohesion: Paragraphs are short, disconnected statements with minimal linking.

Lexical Resource: Vocabulary is basic and repetitive ("good", "like", "know") with little variation.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent errors throughout ("people like to know history", "ask old people who live there before").

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These sample answers are written independently for Prep IELTS Now to illustrate real band-score differences. They are a study aid, not official Cambridge or IELTS material.