Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-10

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)

Tall building in the city consider as a most growing demand for people. It is believed by some that the best approach is to provide more homes in large town is to build tall apartment blocks. I disagree with this view.

One major risk for high apartment blocks is that the environmental disasters and vulnerable soil conditions. This is because some disasters such as earthquake can be fatal for city dwellers as it has many detrimental effects for urbanization. By making high-raised building without considering soil quality as it can perfect or not, people build as many as tall apartments for earning money. For example, a land-owner can make a tall apartment block in the city and do mistakes about examine the soil quality and most of the time they interest about money rather than capacity of the land. As a result, that circumstances lead to serious situation as tall apartments can easily destructed by earthquake or other disasters.

However, another important consideration is that tall building blocks provide more space, range of facilities or benefits for city people. This is largely because cities already have limited land for making new buildings. By constructing many buildings for lot of facilities or amenities, it can be great deal for general public specially who do not have their own home and also villagers, who may come to city for better life. People can get more opportunities as small blocks are cheap and easy to maintain. For instance, a middle-class family can barely save money to built their own house, they fell comfortable if they maintain their lifestyle in city through a cheap rental price. As a result, people can enjoy affordable rent or happy to live precious environment.

In conclusion, I disagree with the statement that tall apartments blocks are the best way to provide enough home for large cities as it has some negative impact for some reason.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you disagree that tall apartment blocks are the best solution, and you give relevant points about earthquake risk and the need for affordable housing. The first body paragraph offers an example of a landowner neglecting soil checks, while the second explains how apartments can provide homes for people with limited budgets. However, the argument is only partly developed. The discussion of disasters does not explain how this concern compares with the housing shortage or whether safer construction could address it. The second paragraph also supports apartment blocks more than your stated disagreement, so the relationship between this point and your position is unclear. Develop a more direct alternative or explain why the disadvantages outweigh the benefits, and support each main idea more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. Linking phrases such as “One major risk,” “However,” and “As a result” help signal the stages of the discussion. However, progression between ideas is not always clear. In particular, the paragraph beginning “However” presents benefits of tall blocks, which conflicts with the stated disagreement unless you explain why those benefits are insufficient. Some references are also difficult to follow, as in “that circumstances” and “it can be great deal,” and several sentences combine multiple points without a clear relationship. Make each paragraph’s purpose explicit, use pronouns with clear referents, and connect examples directly to the claim they are intended to support.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-relevant vocabulary, including “soil conditions,” “urbanization,” “amenities,” “middle-class family,” and “affordable rent.” These choices show an attempt to discuss both construction risks and housing access. However, the range is limited by repeated general words such as “people,” “city,” and “building,” and several word combinations are inaccurate or unclear, including “high-raised building,” “perfect or not,” and “precious environment.” These expressions sometimes make the intended meaning difficult to identify. Aim for more precise collocations and vary key terms—for example, refer to “high-rise apartments,” “assess whether the ground is suitable,” and “a safe living environment.” Check word forms and spelling as well, including “built” rather than “built” in the infinitive context “to build.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, using clauses with “because,” “as,” and “who,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors are frequent, and complex structures are often not controlled successfully. Examples include “Tall building … consider as a most growing demand,” “earthquake can be fatal … as it has,” and “tall apartments can easily destructed.” These show problems with articles, agreement, verb forms and passive construction. Sentence boundaries and clause connections also need attention, as in “By making high-raised building … people build,” where the opening phrase does not connect clearly to the main clause. Practise building accurate subject–verb–object sentences first, then add subordinate clauses, and proofread for articles, plural forms and complete verb phrases.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.