Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-04

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)

It is often argued that the best way to provide enough homes in large cities is to build tall apartment blocks has become a major issue in modern society, and people have different opinions about it. In my opinion, I strongly agree with this statement because it has more positive effects on society. This essay will examiner the primary factors supporting this stance and explain why this trend is significant today.

To begin with, one of the main reasons behind this is not enough land for individual housing, which plays a significant role in the. This means that if there is not proper commercial property land for people who want to live in individual housing society. For example in countries, people are already experiencing this situation in their routine activities and professional lives. Therefore it is clear that this factor strongly supports the given opinion are provides a solid basis for this argument.

Another important point to consider is that, they help protect the environment and reduce urban sprawl. Which also contributes to this issue in a meaningful way. In other words, By building upwards instead of outwards, cities preserve farmland, forests and open space. High-rise buildings also make public transport and services more accessible because more people live in the same area. For instance, many people nowadays Cities such as Singapore and Hong Kong accommodated large population through high rise apartments while using land efficiently to achieve their goals or overcome daily hurdles. As a result, it becomes evident that this trend is beneficial and has lasting impact on the community.

In conclusion, although some people believe that apartment is more comfortable and best as compared to housing society, I strongly believe that I am agree with this point because it is more practical and realistic.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the first body paragraph mentions 'not enough land' but fails to explain the connection to 'individual housing' clearly, resulting in fragmented logic. The second paragraph provides better support by referencing Singapore and Hong Kong, which helps illustrate the benefits of high-rise living. To reach a higher band, you should focus on expanding your arguments with more specific explanations rather than relying on vague statements like 'people are already experiencing this situation'. The conclusion is repetitive and does not effectively summarize the main points.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'In other words', and 'In conclusion'. However, the flow is occasionally disrupted by awkward phrasing and sentence fragments. For example, the sentence 'Which also contributes to this issue in a meaningful way' is a fragment that should be connected to the previous sentence. Additionally, some transitions feel mechanical or forced. While the progression of ideas is generally clear, the lack of precise linking between sentences sometimes makes the argument feel disjointed rather than cohesive.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey their meaning. There is an attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary such as 'urban sprawl', 'commercial property', and 'high-rise buildings'. However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and collocation errors, such as 'housing society' (which is not standard English in this context) and 'accommodated large population' (should be 'accommodate large populations'). The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited, and the repetition of basic words like 'important' and 'people' prevents the essay from demonstrating a more sophisticated lexical range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While there are attempts at complex sentences, they are frequently marred by grammatical errors. For example, the opening sentence is a run-on with a faulty structure: '...is to build tall apartment blocks has become a major issue'. There are also issues with subject-verb agreement and missing articles, such as 'provide enough homes' and 'in countries'. Punctuation is generally functional, but the misuse of full stops to separate dependent clauses from main clauses (e.g., 'Which also contributes...') indicates a lack of control over complex sentence construction.

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