Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-16

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)

Its often argued that population is increasing and people wants more facilities due to the fact they are moving from urban to ruler sectors which leads to the need of more housing areas.

People say that the best way of accommodation is to build large buildings and apartments.

From my perspective am in the favor of this statement because apartments are easy to be rented out other than the whole house. Apartment can be a personal space for students and job person. They took short time to clean and organized. Another significant factor is a number of people can live in apartments. Basically this is the best idea to accommodate more people in less space, but older people or those who are physically not fit can face problems in upper apartments due to stairs and weather conditions. So, its mandatory to accommodate these people in lower portions. Another problem people will face is the short space and lack of privacy.

The houses on the other hand have positive and negative both effects. People who live in houses have privacy but expenses are high as their rent requires handsome amount for rent and also they need to manage other expenses as well. Only a family can live n house on the opposite side number of people can live in tall buildings and apartments.

Overall building tall buildings and apartments can be crucial for accommodating more people in short space and most importantly living in apartments can be low in budget and easy on pocket.

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. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention benefits like space efficiency and affordability, the arguments are brief and lack depth. For instance, the point about elderly residents is relevant but is not fully integrated into a cohesive argument about urban planning. To improve, aim to expand on your points with more specific examples or logical explanations. The response is somewhat repetitive, particularly in the final paragraph, which restates points already made without adding new insight. Ensure that each paragraph contributes a distinct, well-supported idea to your overall argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical progression between ideas is sometimes disjointed. You use some cohesive devices like 'on the other hand' and 'another significant factor,' but the transitions between sentences can feel mechanical. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'people wants more facilities due to the fact they are moving from urban to ruler sectors,' where the logic of the movement is confusing. Paragraphing is present, but the internal structure of the paragraphs could be improved by ensuring each sentence clearly follows from the previous one to build a stronger, more coherent argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'good,' 'best,' and 'problems.' There are also some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'ruler sectors' (likely meaning 'rural areas') and 'job person' (which is not standard English). Phrases like 'handsome amount for rent' are slightly unnatural in this context. To improve, focus on using more academic collocations and precise terminology related to urban development, such as 'high-density housing,' 'urban sprawl,' or 'cost-effective solutions,' rather than relying on simple, repetitive phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('people wants,' 'Apartment can be'), article usage, and awkward phrasing ('They took short time to clean'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing commas and incorrect apostrophes (e.g., 'Its' instead of 'It is'). While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring that your sentence structures are grammatically sound before attempting more complex forms.

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

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