Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-18
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 5.0)
In this contemporary world, housing has become a major issue for growing urbanization. Many believe that building big apartments is ultimate solution to cater for a large population, whilst other disagree. I personally support this idea as many people can live in a tall house than a small house.
One of the primary reasons why I believe that constructing taller with multiple storage layers can cater to hundreds of families unlike the traditional old housing, which can only help a single family.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0
The response is significantly under the 250-word minimum requirement, which severely limits your ability to develop your ideas. You have stated a position, but the argument is extremely underdeveloped. You mention that tall buildings cater to more families, but you do not explore counter-arguments or provide specific examples to support your claims. Because the response is only 82 words, it fails to address the task fully, resulting in a low score for Task Achievement. To improve, you must expand your arguments with detailed explanations and relevant examples to meet the length requirement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text is too short to demonstrate a clear logical progression or effective paragraphing. While there is a basic attempt at an introduction, the lack of a body paragraph structure makes it difficult to assess your ability to organize ideas. You use a basic cohesive device ('whilst'), but the overall flow is fragmented due to the lack of content. To improve, you need to structure your essay into clear paragraphs—an introduction, at least two body paragraphs with supporting evidence, and a conclusion—using a wider range of linking words.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
Your vocabulary is basic and repetitive. Phrases like 'big apartments' and 'tall house' are simplistic and lack the precision required for an academic essay. You attempt some topic-related vocabulary such as 'urbanization' and 'contemporary world', but the range is insufficient to express complex ideas. To achieve a higher band, you should aim to use more precise academic collocations and avoid repeating simple adjectives. Expanding your vocabulary will help you convey your arguments with more nuance and sophistication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and some complex structures, but there are noticeable errors. For example, 'many people can live in a tall house than a small house' contains a comparative error ('more people... than in...'). Additionally, 'constructing taller with multiple storage layers' is awkward phrasing. While the errors do not completely impede communication, the limited length prevents you from demonstrating a wide range of grammatical structures. Focus on mastering complex sentence forms and ensuring subject-verb agreement and correct comparative structures.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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