Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-05

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)

Overpopulation has become the biggest challenge for the big cities. To tackle this problem, many people are suggesting building tall apartments so that there will be enough houses for everyone. Although personal houses have their own benefits, I agree with the earlier statement, as this provides cheaper housing and also utilises land better.

To begin with, in big cities, land is limited. Because of this, it will be impossible for everyone to build their own houses. Similarly, building many houses might destroy the green land and trees of the cities, but building tall apartments only uses a fraction of the land. For example, in Dubai the government built tall buildings, and such buildings can hold large numbers of people in a small area.

Similarly, the cost of building personal houses in big cities was very expensive compared to buying an apartment because the land in cities was extremely expensive, and all the people might not be able to spend that much money. For example, in Tokyo, the land of building a small house cost about 3 times more then buying an apartment.

However, there are some benefits of a personal house too, as the people living in the personal house will have more privacy compared to apartments where many people live together, and the personal houses are a lot quieter compared to apartments with many people.

In sum, although there are some positive sides of living in a personal house. I totally agree; the best way to provide enough housing for everyone in big cities is to build tall apartments, as this will utilize the land area way better and are also more affodable.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. The ideas regarding land efficiency and cost-effectiveness are relevant and supported by examples from Dubai and Tokyo. However, the development is somewhat limited; the arguments could be extended further by discussing the social or environmental implications of high-rise living in more depth. The counter-argument regarding privacy is acknowledged but could be better integrated into the overall stance to demonstrate a more nuanced perspective. Overall, the response is well-focused and meets the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Similarly', and 'In sum' are used to guide the reader through the argument. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing within sentences could be smoother. For instance, the transition between the second and third paragraphs is repetitive in its use of 'Similarly'. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the progression of ideas is generally easy to follow, though the connection between the counter-argument and the final conclusion could be more sophisticated.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There is an attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary such as 'overpopulation', 'utilises', and 'affordability'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are occasional errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'affodable' and the awkward phrasing 'the land of building a small house'. To reach a higher band, the student should aim for more precise collocations and a wider variety of academic vocabulary to avoid repetitive phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical inaccuracies, such as 'the land in cities was extremely expensive' (tense inconsistency) and 'cost about 3 times more then' (incorrect comparative conjunction 'than'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are minor errors, such as the sentence fragment in the conclusion: 'I totally agree; the best way...'. The student demonstrates control over basic structures, but more consistent accuracy in complex sentences is required for a higher score.

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

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