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)

In the age of development, it is often heard that Vertical Construction is the only saviour for cities. However, I completely disagree with this perception that tall apartment blocks is the best way to provide ample homes in urban areas.

I firmly believe that such a perception is only the result of imperialism which is sub-consciously injected in our minds through social media. Why not to expand cities rather than just going for Sky scrappers or tall building apartment blocks ?

Horizontal Construction or simple homes can be the best option if we have to meet the target of providing enough homes. Our cultural and social reality perfeclty elaborates this perspective of mine. We live in a society where we can't expect imported mindsets to be owned and accepted easily. In this societ people feel conjested living in vertical buildings.

Our society's basic building unit is a family, which is different than west, where individualism prevails. Let me emphasize on this through my personal example. A very close friend of mine purchased an apartment in a vertical building, which ws later declared illegal, and was destructed. Since then he never imagined of a tall building ever. Horizontally constructed homes and colonies, can be the perfect alternative required in this regard, that also gets accepted by people from the core of their hearts.

Moreover, there are also many other disadvantages of such tall blocks as well. For example, in such blocks, not everyone gets ample or equal amenities. Basic needs like vantilation or sunshine may be there, but not in an equitable manner.

So, these arguments are enough to highlight why providing enough homes in large cities through building apartment blocks, is not the best way to do so.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position against tall apartment blocks. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. The argument relies heavily on cultural assertions and personal anecdotes rather than exploring the complexities of urban planning, such as land scarcity, infrastructure costs, or environmental impact. The mention of 'imperialism' and 'imported mindsets' is not clearly linked to the topic of urban housing, making the argument feel slightly tangential. To improve, you should focus on more objective, analytical arguments regarding urban density, sustainability, and the practical challenges of housing large populations in cities.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the logical progression between ideas is sometimes weak. The transition between the idea of 'imperialism' and the practical disadvantages of tall buildings is abrupt. While some cohesive devices are used (e.g., 'Moreover', 'For example'), they are occasionally used in a mechanical way. The referencing is sometimes unclear, and the flow of the argument would benefit from more sophisticated linking words that show the relationship between your points rather than just listing them.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and sophistication required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward word choices or non-standard collocations, such as 'Vertical Construction is the only saviour', 'imported mindsets', and 'gets accepted by people from the core of their hearts'. Additionally, there are spelling errors like 'Sky scrappers', 'perfeclty', 'conjested', 'vantilation', and 'ws'. To achieve a higher score, you need to use a wider range of academic vocabulary and ensure that your word choices are natural and accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Examples include 'tall apartment blocks is the best way' (subject-verb agreement), 'Why not to expand cities' (incorrect structure), and 'different than west' (missing article). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of errors in basic grammar and sentence construction prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and article usage would be beneficial.

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

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