Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Large cities can utilize their spaces by building huge apartment buildings which promotes more shelter for the crowded urban population. I completely believe this statement and understand the need to fulfill the basic requirement for every citizen of the town. In this essay, we will discuss the reasons for the metropolitan cities to take such action.

Population in the urban areas are much larger in contrast to the population in the rural areas which implies that it is not practical to control the amount of population residing in these loactions. However, we can still manage them by building apartment blocks to aid for the better settlement for these people. For instance, the area of Kathmandu city is way smaller than that of other rural areas of Nepal and yet it has the most populated city in Nepal. So, in order to manage the population government has made policies to build more apartment complexes. Hence, in order to manage the people in large cities manufacturing high and convenient buildings to shelter these humans is more convenient.

Everybody wanting to live in the urban areas are planning to build a future in these developed locations. Since the spaces in the urban areas are limited we need to utilize it to the fullest by systematically building many stories. For example, various cities like New York, Tokyo, Seoul provide their people with best apartment choices with regard to their budget plans.

In summary, the best way to increase the number of houses in urban towns and cities is by utilizing the places and building apartment blocks to assist the large population living there.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. The ideas are relevant, focusing on population density and urban land management. However, the development is somewhat repetitive and lacks depth. For instance, the argument regarding Kathmandu is mentioned but not fully explored in terms of how tall buildings specifically solve the problem beyond just 'managing' people. The essay would benefit from more nuanced discussion on the potential drawbacks or alternative solutions to provide a more balanced and comprehensive response. The conclusion is a bit brief and simply restates the introduction rather than synthesizing the main points.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'However', 'For instance', and 'In summary', which help the flow of ideas. However, some transitions feel mechanical or slightly forced, such as the start of the second paragraph. The referencing is generally clear, though the connection between the idea of 'future' in the third paragraph and the subsequent mention of New York and Tokyo could be more explicitly linked to the topic of housing capacity. Overall, the progression of ideas is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the student to express their ideas clearly. There are some instances of slightly unnatural word choices, such as 'promotes more shelter' and 'manufacturing high and convenient buildings'. The use of 'humans' in the context of urban planning is also slightly awkward. While the student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'metropolitan' and 'urban areas', the range is somewhat limited. To reach a higher band, the student should focus on more precise collocations and a wider variety of academic vocabulary.

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 'Population in the urban areas are' (subject-verb agreement) and 'it has the most populated city' (should be 'it is'). Additionally, there are issues with phrasing, such as 'aid for the better settlement for these people'. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. A greater variety of error-free complex structures would improve the score.

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

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