Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-13

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)

With the rising population, there is a growing need for more residential areas. One best possible solution is to construct high-rise residential buildings to accommodate the rising population. As far as I am concerned, this type of construction will ruin the beauty of many cities. This essay will discuss both perspectives before explaining why I believe that the high residential buildings can negatively affect the aesthetic appeal of cities.

On the one hand, with the growth in population, it is becoming hard to provide suitable place for homes, cities are getting congested due to consistent construction of new houses. Several other problems are also rising like, sewage and supply of clean drinking water. Moreover, cities are expanding due to urbanization, therefore it is becoming a challenge to provide major facilities to far off places. It is wise to construct tall apartment buildings which can be easily managed. There is an authentic example of the UAE, which is constructing tall building and these building are an addition to the beauty of the city.

On the other hand, these new constructions cause several issues, like the time they consume for construction. While there are many multi-story buildings over the seaside or parks, meanwhile an enormous number of same buildings are behind these giant towers which blocked the view for many others. In addition, these towers require high maintenance and efficient security services resulted in high prices. Therefore, many people cannot afford and are forced to live in shared apartments. As a result, they will become congested communities a major cause of contiguous diseases.

I believe, we should expand cities by creating more housing societies, instead of adding more burden on existing cities. However, it can be more expensive, but it can save us from a lot more problems in future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the pros and cons of high-rise buildings. However, the position is slightly contradictory; the introduction states the essay will discuss both perspectives, but the thesis leans towards high-rises being negative, while the body paragraphs present a balanced view. The development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding 'contiguous diseases' is mentioned but not clearly explained or linked back to the prompt's core issue of housing provision. To reach a higher band, ensure your position is consistent throughout and provide more detailed, logical support for your arguments, rather than listing potential problems without sufficient elaboration.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'Moreover'. However, some transitions are mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'meanwhile an enormous number of same buildings are behind these giant towers'. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the second paragraph where the link between the UAE example and the broader argument about aesthetic appeal is not fully integrated. Improving the flow between sentences and ensuring that pronouns clearly refer to their antecedents would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express basic ideas. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'urbanization', 'aesthetic appeal', and 'contiguous', though 'contiguous' is used incorrectly in this context (it means 'touching' or 'adjacent', not 'infectious'). Some word choices are imprecise, such as 'suitable place for homes' instead of 'adequate housing' or 'housing societies' which is a regional term. To improve, focus on using collocations more accurately and expanding your range of topic-specific vocabulary to convey ideas with greater precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'there is an authentic example of the UAE, which is constructing tall building' (should be 'buildings') and 'resulted in high prices' (should be 'resulting in'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some comma splices and missing articles. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the response from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles would significantly improve the accuracy of your writing.

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

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