Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-14

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)

I strongly agree to the point ,that to provide sufficient homes for individuals in cities, building highrise apartment blocks is efficient way.It may cause some conjustion but it is the best approach because there is not much place available in cities to build individual home for every person.

I frimly believe that, large apartment blocks can provide home for many families and many cities have already implemented this method by giving permissions to highrise buildings.For instance if a family bought a place in city and built there own individual house for there family ,in the same place if we build a large apartment block in the same area about 10-15 families can live there.In additional as population in urban area is growing rapidly the place to live is decreasing due to over population.

I believe that as population in urban areas are rising rapidly the traffic also increases significantly .Therefore, It better to use broad roads and to reduce the traffic and time for people to travel,for that using large apartment blocks to reduce the place used instead of villas or individual houses is best option.However, people can also live in outskirts of urban area to reduce traffic and lead a peacful life.for example providing public transport to outskirts leads to people to live in outside the urban areas,this can be one best options instead of building tall apartments.

To sum up, there are some advantages and some demerits for people to live in tall apartment blocks ,but still it is the efficient approach to use less land as needed because the land is the most scarce in cities.Although, looking for other alternative methods is also very essential for urban local councils.

AI examiner evaluation

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

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you strongly support tall apartment blocks because urban land is scarce, and you give a relevant comparison between one house and a block accommodating 10–15 families. You also acknowledge congestion and mention living on the outskirts as an alternative. However, the response only partly develops the task: the main case for high-rise housing is repeated rather than explored in depth, and the discussion of roads and traffic is not clearly connected to how apartment blocks provide enough homes. The outskirts example also introduces an alternative without explaining how it compares with your preferred solution. Develop two or three distinct reasons, explain their effects, and support them with specific examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, supporting paragraphs and a conclusion, and the reader can generally follow your position. You use linking expressions such as “For instance,” “Therefore” and “To sum up.” However, progression is uneven: the second paragraph focuses on land efficiency, while the next shifts to traffic and then to living outside the city, so the relationship between these points is not always clear. Some connectors are awkward or repetitive, and the conclusion introduces “other alternative methods” without specifying them. Give each paragraph one clear central idea, connect each example directly to that idea, and use referencing and transitions more precisely to make the argument flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “urban areas,” “population,” “apartment blocks,” “public transport” and “scarce,” which helps communicate the main argument. There are also attempts at more specific wording, such as “individual houses” and “outskirts.” However, the range is limited and several spelling and word-choice errors make the writing less clear or natural, including “conjustion,” “frimly,” “peacful” and “place to live is decreasing.” Some phrases are also imprecise, such as “use broad roads” and “one best options.” Build a more accurate set of collocations for housing and urban planning, and check spelling and word forms carefully. For example, describe land as “limited” and housing supply as “declining” or “insufficient.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a conditional comparison beginning “if a family bought a place in city” and a reason clause introduced by “because.” This shows some range, but complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make parts of the argument difficult to read. Examples include “it is efficient way,” “there is not much place,” “population in urban areas are rising,” and “It better to use broad roads.” Sentence boundaries and punctuation are also inconsistent, particularly where commas are followed by no space or clauses run together. Practise accurate articles, subject–verb agreement and complete sentence structures, then proofread each sentence for punctuation and clarity.

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.