Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-07

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)

As, population of the globe is increasing rapidly, the shelter for human beings is also becoming challenging especially in cities areas. While many advocates that building tall apartment blocks is optimum solution to provide enough houses in large urban areas, there exist some who thinks better alternative solution do exists. This essay discuss and explain why I disagree that apartment blocks are not the optimal solution.

Building tall apartments blocks provide enough homes in small area but it also needs overhead to manage various aspects like water facilities, different religious and ethnicity, and so on. Tall apartments also need co-ordination and co-operation among the families living in the buildings. While many families wants to have a customize house, they may need permission to customize or modify their apartment from their neighbours or authorities of building . Tall apartments are good but it can also hamper individuals or family to live in private and with freedom . For example, one family may get disturbance from the family living in top of them or next to them.

While building tall apartments one should also consider the case of emergency. For instance, proper evacuation system should be developed in case of fire or earthquakes. If properly not managed many individuals or families may lost their life. For very tall building achieving proper system can be costly or may not possible . Thus, tall apartments many not be optimal solution some times.

Although, building tall apartments help in providing enough homes in large cities, it can also hampers ones personal or private life and it also makes congestion which may not be ideal in case of earthquakes or fire. Thus tall apartments are beneficial but we cannot neglect its negative aspects. Thus I believe we should also explore other possibilities as well.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position against the idea that tall apartment blocks are the best solution. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention concerns like privacy, management, and safety, these points are not fully extended with concrete examples or deeper analysis. For instance, the mention of 'religious and ethnicity' issues is vague and lacks a clear connection to why this makes tall buildings a poor solution. To reach a higher band, you should focus on providing more detailed explanations and specific, real-world examples to support your arguments, ensuring that each point directly reinforces your central thesis.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use some cohesive devices such as 'While', 'For instance', and 'Thus' to link ideas. However, the use of these devices is sometimes repetitive or slightly mechanical, particularly the frequent use of 'Thus' and 'While' at the start of sentences. Additionally, the flow between sentences could be smoother; some transitions feel abrupt. To improve, try to vary your linking words and ensure that the relationship between sentences is more clearly established through better referencing and substitution rather than relying on a limited set of connectors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your meaning clearly. You use some relevant terms like 'congestion', 'evacuation system', and 'optimal solution'. However, there are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'shelter for human beings is also becoming challenging' (should be 'housing is becoming a challenge') and 'makes congestion' (should be 'causes congestion'). The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited, and there is a lack of more sophisticated or precise academic collocations. Focusing on learning word families and common academic collocations would help improve your precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('many advocates that', 'some who thinks'), article usage ('in cities areas'), and awkward phrasing ('living in top of them'). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your main points, they are frequent enough to impact the overall fluency of the writing. To improve, pay closer attention to basic grammar rules, particularly pluralization and subject-verb agreement, and try to incorporate more complex sentence structures with greater accuracy.

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

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