Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

It is thought that building tall apartment blocks is the best way to provide citizens with enough homes. I would argue that a resonable city plan together with supportive policies might be a better approach.

First and foremost, it must be realized that while tall buildings can provide more apartments, it may at the cost of the quality of people's lives. For instance, ShangHai, a cosmopolitan city in China, has a substantial number of population, and this number has been increasing rapidly, as individuals want to seek better opportunities in general. A research suggests that despite the exclusive lifestyle followed by the wealthy, the majority of job seekers' living in apartment blocks always complain that they do not have sufficient space and it is too in convenient to share one or two lifts with others. Additionally, the number of population in big cities will only go up in the future-it is impossible for governments to keep constructing without limit.

On the other hand, elected officials need to remember the reasons why we need more skyscrapers initially-cities have to be able to accommodate their citizens and an increasing number of people emigrate from rural areas to find better job opportunities, which is ultimately leading to the reason that governments want to improve the general public's well-being. Therefore, we can try to find other ways to approach it, such as better city plan and supportive policies. For example, governments can invest in improving infrastructure in other areas and introduce policies that encourage people to move back to their hometown, balancing the population distribution in different areas. This can fundamentally turn the current situation around without compromising the quality of people's lives and other plans.

In conclusion, while I agree the importance of accommodating citizens for cities, I believe that a better city plan and policies can strike a balance unlike building tall blocks, which may compomise the quality of people's lives.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position against the idea that tall apartment blocks are the best solution. The ideas are relevant, such as the mention of infrastructure and population distribution. However, the development is somewhat uneven. While the argument about the quality of life in high-rises is introduced, it lacks depth; for example, the reference to 'a research' is vague and lacks specific detail. The alternative solutions provided, such as encouraging people to move back to their hometowns, are a bit idealistic and could be more thoroughly explored to fully support the argument. Overall, the position is consistent, but the supporting arguments could be more robustly developed to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two main arguments. Cohesive devices such as 'First and foremost', 'Additionally', 'On the other hand', and 'Therefore' are used to guide the reader through the argument. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with referencing, such as the phrase 'leading to the reason that' which is somewhat wordy and lacks precision. Despite these minor flaws, the progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow throughout the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task. You use some good topic-specific collocations like 'cosmopolitan city', 'population distribution', and 'supportive policies'. However, there are some inaccuracies and awkward phrasings, such as 'a substantial number of population' (should be 'a substantial population' or 'a large number of people') and 'it is too in convenient' (spelling error). The range is sufficient to convey your meaning, but to achieve a higher score, you should aim for more precise word choices and avoid minor spelling errors like 'compomise'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. You successfully use complex sentences to express your ideas, such as 'while I agree the importance of accommodating citizens for cities, I believe that...'. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'a research suggests' (research is uncountable) and 'job seekers' living' (incorrect possessive usage). Punctuation is generally functional, though there is a minor error with the hyphenation in 'future-it'. The majority of your sentences are clear, and the errors do not impede communication, but more consistent control over articles and countability would improve the score.

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

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