Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-15

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)

It is widely debated whether tall apartment blocks can help in providing enough homes or not.

In my opinion, I also agree with this statement, because as we know the population rate is growing faster that's why there is excessive need to have more space for making homes. Specially, many people come from villages or small towns to big cities to earn money and make their living conditions better and they also need to have home. So, there is increasing demand for living space. If government would allow to build tall apartment block then this issue will be resolved because tall buildings will have more floors that will help in making more apartments and will eventually help people live comfortably.

As we all know, because of increasing demands of living spaces we are damaging our environment by cutting down the forest and building housing societies to accommodate more people, that leads to environmental pollution because of deforestation. Natural habitat of different birds and animals are also in danger because of this. So, it is better to build tall buildings instead of planning housing societies which needs more space it is more efficient way to build tall buildings. These tall buildings will provide homes to many people as well as they can help in protecting the environment by reducing deforestation which is helpful in controlling pollution and also providing the healthy lifestyle to everyone. It also ensure that the natural habitat of birds and animals would not be endangered.

In conclusion, It is best way to build tall buildings to provide homes in big cities rather than cutting down forest and green areas to build housing societies which have many disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of tall apartment blocks. The main arguments—population growth and environmental preservation—are relevant. However, the development is somewhat repetitive. For instance, the environmental argument is restated multiple times without adding new depth. To reach a higher band, you should provide more specific examples or explore counter-arguments (e.g., the social impact of high-density living or infrastructure requirements) to demonstrate a more nuanced understanding of the topic. The conclusion is a bit brief and simply restates the introduction rather than synthesizing the main points effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your argument. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive. Phrases like 'As we all know' and 'So' are used frequently to link ideas, which makes the flow feel a bit simplistic. To improve, try using a wider variety of linking words and transition phrases (e.g., 'Furthermore,' 'Consequently,' 'In contrast to this') to create a more sophisticated flow between sentences and paragraphs. Referencing is generally clear, but the progression of ideas could be smoother.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You rely on basic terms like 'big cities,' 'make their living conditions better,' and 'good/bad' concepts. There is an attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary such as 'deforestation' and 'natural habitat,' which is positive. However, there are some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'excessive need to have more space for making homes.' To improve, focus on using more academic collocations and precise terminology related to urban planning and environmental sustainability.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the' natural habitat), verb tense consistency ('If government would allow'), and subject-verb agreement ('housing societies which needs'). Some sentences are slightly disjointed due to punctuation errors. To achieve a higher band, you need to demonstrate better control over complex structures and reduce the frequency of basic grammatical slips. Proofreading for subject-verb agreement and article usage 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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