Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-06

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

The best way to provide enough homes in large cities is to build tall apartment blocks.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

A majority of people think that the most appropriate way for providing a safe space to live for a lot of people, is to create apartment buildings. With the rise in the number of such residential buildings in the cities, this topic is gaining alot of attention. While i agree that residential buildings can accomodate a large group of people, owning a land can give more an individual more freedom and sense of saftey. This essay will explain the main reasons for my position.

The primary reason why i hold this view is that the apartment buildings are overcrowded and they lack of basic facilities such as availability of water and utility gas around the clock.The fact that the basic infrastructure of most of these apartments is made for smaller families. For instance, most of the flats are either a two or three bedroom flat. Additionally, there is no room for ventilation in most rooms except for the balconies if there is a balcony at all.

Another important factor is that, there is a lack of privacy in these buildings. Since a huge number of people are sharing the same space, news of fueds and voilent conflicts have been reported. This is particularly evident in congested buildings with few or no playgrounds and entertainment spots.

In conclusion, I firmly believe that there could be a good land of use to provide enough homes to people, instead of just building residential apatment buildings which leads to frustration and lower sense of peace in the society.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your position is broadly clear: you accept that apartments can house many people but argue that land-based housing offers greater freedom and safety. The two body paragraphs give relevant concerns—overcrowding and limited privacy—and the examples of small flats and shared spaces help explain them. However, the response only partly answers the specific question of whether tall apartment blocks are the best way to provide enough homes in large cities. It does not compare this option with realistic alternatives or explain how individual land ownership could meet high urban demand. Several claims, such as conflicts being reported, are asserted rather than supported, and the conclusion introduces “a good land of use” without clarifying the proposal. Develop the comparison and support each main reason more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs addressing separate disadvantages, and a conclusion. This makes the main line of argument easy to follow, and transitions such as “The primary reason” and “Another important factor” signal the paragraph purposes. However, the progression is sometimes mechanical, and some links between claims are unclear. For example, the sentence beginning “The fact that the basic infrastructure…” is incomplete and does not clearly connect the claim about overcrowding to the examples that follow. The conclusion also repeats the general position rather than drawing together the two reasons. Use complete explanatory links between claims, and make the final paragraph summarise how your alternative would provide homes at city scale.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main concerns, including “overcrowded,” “basic facilities,” “ventilation,” “privacy,” and “congested buildings.” There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “sense of safety” and “entertainment spots.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, which makes parts of the argument less clear: “owning a land,” “a good land of use,” and “news of fueds” do not express the intended ideas naturally. Spelling errors such as “alot,” “saftey,” “voilent,” and “apatment” are noticeable. Build precision by learning common housing collocations and checking spelling; for instance, distinguish “land ownership” from “land use” and describe “reported disputes” rather than “news of” conflicts.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex structures, including a concession with “While I agree…” and a reason clause beginning “Since a huge number of people…”. Meaning is generally recoverable, but some sentence structures are faulty or incomplete. “The fact that the basic infrastructure… is made for smaller families” is a fragment, while “the apartment buildings are overcrowded and they lack of basic facilities” has an incorrect verb pattern. There are also errors in articles, agreement, and punctuation, as in “a two or three bedroom flat” and the comma separating the subject from “is” in the opening sentence. Practise building complete sentences around each main claim, and check verb patterns, articles, and sentence boundaries during revision.

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

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