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)
More living spaces can be provided by constructing large apartments in populated cities. I agree with this statement, such that. limited urban land can be used efficiently furthermore, more people can house in areas where the land is expensive and scarce.
One of the main reason I support this view is that tall apartment makes efficient use of limited urban land by moreover cities can accommodate more families vertically, and this frees up essential space for public infrastructure such as parks, schools and hospitals. This will also allow the cities to maintain its beauty that comes from green lands. For example in countries like japan and china high rise apartments is already accommodating millions of residents and preserving the areas of park land and green spaces.
Furthermore, constructing high rise apartments, more families can be housed in areas where land is scarce. this can prevent cities from expanding outwards. People living in big cities are already used to their lifestyle their and can not relocate because of lack of housing space so cities are forced to expand outward to accommodate more residents. For example if Lahore city continued to expand horizontally to house it growing population, valuable agriculture land would be lost. and the city will slowly lose its green land so to prevent that high rise apartments are constructed.
In conclusion, I strongly agree that by building tall apartments sufficient housing can be provided in large cities and it also make the efficient use of land while preventing uncontrolled urban expansion.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by clearly stating an agreement with the statement. The ideas are relevant, focusing on land efficiency and urban sprawl. However, the development is somewhat limited. While the mention of Japan, China, and Lahore provides some support, the explanation remains relatively superficial. The response covers all parts of the task, but the arguments could be extended further to reach a higher band. The position is clear throughout, but the overall development lacks the depth required for a higher score.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For instance, the phrase 'such that. limited urban land' is grammatically disjointed, and the transition 'by moreover' is misused. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the flow between sentences is occasionally interrupted by these mechanical errors. While there is an overall progression, the lack of sophisticated linking words and the presence of awkward transitions limit the score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. The student relies on basic terms like 'big cities' and 'more people'. There are some attempts at more specific vocabulary, such as 'horizontally' and 'infrastructure', but these are not consistently used. Some word choices are slightly unnatural, such as 'more people can house' (should be 'be housed'). Overall, the range is sufficient to communicate the message, but it does not demonstrate the flexibility or precision required for a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('tall apartment makes', 'high rise apartments is') and punctuation errors, such as unnecessary periods in the middle of sentences ('such that. limited', 'land. and'). These errors are noticeable and occur throughout the text. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these slips prevents the essay from reaching a higher band, as the control over complex structures is not yet consistent.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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