Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)
Many people believe to house enough people in large urban areas government should build more tall apartment blocks. I personally disagree with this opinion, although these buildings accommodate large number of people in a limited space, they cause social and environmental problems for the surrounding area.
One of the major drawback of building tall apartment block is that they can negatively impacts people's every day life. Densely populated areas usually affects their nearby public services such as school, hospital and public transportation systems that will be overcrowded. Furthermore many residents that lives in high apartments usually has little to no green space around them which causes severe physical and mental health issue. In addition if the apartment blocks don't get careful planning large cities will easily succumb into never ending traffic jam, noise and air pollution.
Another main reason why i disagree is that there are alternative housing ideas instead of building vertically, for instance: by constructing low cost houses further into the suburban areas will benefit both the citizens and the city. This is because public transportations and services will be less crowded due to the population being evenly distributed throughout the city, also these suburban areas usually has lots green spaces that the public can enjoy which can positively impact every residents.
However, it is true that tall apartment blocks do have some advantages. It is an efficient way of keeping large amount people in limited space, especially in densely populated cities where land is scarce. Nevertheless, this benefit doesn't outweigh the drawback, Poorly planned developments will lead to much complicated long-term problems that is not easy to fix.
In conclusion, while tall apartment blocks can contribute to increasing the housing supply in large cities, I believe they should not be considered the primary solution. Combination of better urban planning and improved infrastructure would be a more effective and better approach.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. You have provided relevant arguments against the statement, such as the strain on public services and the lack of green space, while also acknowledging the counter-argument regarding space efficiency. The ideas are generally well-developed, though some points, such as the specific impact on 'physical and mental health', could have been supported with more concrete examples or deeper explanation to reach a higher band. Overall, the response is focused and directly answers the prompt.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. You use cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'In addition', and 'Nevertheless' to link your points. However, there are some instances where the flow could be smoother; for example, the transition between the second and third paragraphs could be more refined. Additionally, some referencing is slightly mechanical, but the progression of ideas remains clear and easy to follow throughout the text.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'densely populated', 'urban areas', and 'infrastructure'. There are some attempts to use less common vocabulary, but there are also occasional inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'succumb into' (should be 'succumb to') and 'never ending traffic jam' (should be 'traffic jams'). While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precise control over collocations and word forms to reach a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'many residents that lives', 'usually has little', 'each residents') and pluralization (e.g., 'major drawback' instead of 'drawbacks', 'large amount people' instead of 'large amounts of people'). While these errors are noticeable and occur throughout the text, they rarely impede the reader's understanding. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic agreement and ensuring that plural nouns are used correctly in context.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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