Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-19

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 this modern era, it is a good way to construct big homes in cities. I agree with this given statement up to large extent the reasons behind my thinking will be explain in the upcoming Paragraphs.

To start with, one of the main reason is that as pollution is increasing day by day most of people facing lot of problems to live in so it is a brilliant way to build a big apartments in urban areas. For instance, when individuals live in big homes they get a lot of facilities in one particular apartment like beautiful view in balcony, kitchen, two or three rooms with attached bathrooms.

Furthermore , Second reason is that most of dwellers do work in big cities so they do not go for long travelling so they get an opportunities to spend time with their family. For example a survey has been conducted in many cities that shows people who work in renowned cities they can get white color jobs where they get all the amenities of life and they can also devote their time on other activities,

On the other hand, it has also some drawbacks like they have a limited space to live in cities house there are no parks and gardens in their apartments such as they also follow rule and regulations in which society or building they live. Moreover, growing population in countryside also effects on agriculture system due to construction of new buildings.

To sum up, no doubt live in a big homes or apartments best way because people get lot of facilities but also they have also disadvantages growing population in cities effects on agriculture system.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a position, but the development of ideas is limited. While you mention benefits like convenience and proximity to work, the explanations are somewhat superficial. For example, the link between 'pollution' and 'tall apartments' is not clearly explained, and the argument regarding 'white color jobs' is tangential to the topic of housing. The conclusion is repetitive and does not fully synthesize the points made. To improve, ensure that each paragraph focuses on a single, well-developed argument that directly supports your stance, providing more logical depth rather than just listing features.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. Phrases like 'To start with' and 'Furthermore' are used, but the internal flow within paragraphs is sometimes disjointed. For instance, the transition between the benefits of apartments and the drawbacks is abrupt. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the final paragraph where the summary of points feels disconnected from the preceding arguments. Improving the variety and precision of linking words will help create a smoother progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. You rely on basic descriptors like 'big homes' and 'good way' throughout the text. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'white color jobs' (should be 'white-collar jobs') and 'effects on agriculture system' (should be 'affects the agricultural system'). While the meaning is generally clear, the range is limited, and there is little evidence of less common lexical items or idiomatic language. Expanding your vocabulary to include more academic and topic-specific terms would significantly enhance your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'most of people facing'), article usage (e.g., 'in a big homes'), and punctuation errors, particularly with comma placement. While the meaning is usually understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically ensuring that subjects and verbs agree and that articles are used correctly before nouns.

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

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