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 fast-paced era, technology has revolutionized the way people live. There is a notion that, the appropriate way to give enough homes in large cityside is to construct big apartment blocks. this essay will examine partial agreement in the forthcoming paragraphs.
On the one hand, there are several benefits behind having tall apartment in city side. Firstly, it helps in community development to have a better career opportunity in their life. To elaborate, if the majority of the individuals have their own apartment in the cityside they do not need to rely on someone house, they can live in their own house and be independent in their life. Secondly, it helps in public safety and also reduce the crime activity in the society. To exemplify, nowadays majority of the people live in the rent house, and they suffer from lack of safety and privacy, if they have their own house, it is beneficial for them and also it is safer and more secure.
On the other hand, there are some demerits of behind tall apartment blocks in cityside. First and foremost, having tall apartment carry huge cost and much more expensive for the individual. For instance, the apartment in the cityside is much more expensive for the individual and employee to purchase the apartment. Furthermore, being constructed tall apartment blocks in city can leads environmental damage. To exemplify, if government trying to construct tall apartments in the city it means they cut lots of trees from the cityside that would not be beneficial for the individual.
To encapsulate, I reckon that this particular statement mentioned in the notion is linked with multiple advantages including development of community and safer and secure moreover it involves disadvantage's including huge cost and environmental damage.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The essay addresses the prompt by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of tall apartment blocks. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the argument that tall buildings improve 'public safety' is asserted but not logically explained or supported with a clear link to the building type itself. Similarly, the claim that tall buildings lead to environmental damage by cutting down trees is a generalization that lacks nuance. While a position is stated, the supporting points are repetitive and lack depth, which limits the overall impact of the argument.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay uses basic cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Firstly', and 'To encapsulate' to structure the response. While the paragraphing is logical, the progression within paragraphs is sometimes hindered by awkward phrasing and repetitive sentence structures. The use of referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'demerits of behind tall apartment blocks', which disrupts the flow. The connection between ideas is functional but lacks the sophistication required for a higher band score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There is frequent repetition of basic terms like 'cityside', 'apartment', and 'house'. Some collocations are unnatural or incorrect, such as 'demerits of behind' and 'carry huge cost'. The range of vocabulary is limited, and the student struggles to use more academic or topic-specific terminology effectively. To improve, the student should focus on learning synonyms and more precise academic collocations related to urban planning and housing.
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 clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'tall apartment carry'), incorrect article usage, and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'being constructed tall apartment blocks... can leads'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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