Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-20
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)
As the populaton of the world has increased so has the demand for housng.Due to which it has been proposed that the best way to provide sufficient homes in metropolitan areas is to build tall apartment blocks.I think this statement is only half-valid which i will elborate more on in my upcoming writing paragraphs.
To commence with, there are various reasons as to why this is a good solution for providing homes. One of the crucial one being, less land usage.To be more precise, building tall apartment blocks will result in more people per square kilometre which would reduce land usage. The additional land then can be used for other purposes like farming,planting trees and many more. A research done by the 'Engish Times' showed that to house a 1000 people it would take only one acre of land filled with 10 storey buildings whereas it would take 500 acres with individual homes.
On the other hand, there are some factors which do not favour this idea. One of them being , more prone to disasters. To be explain it further, tall buildings are often times more suspectible to be damaged by disasters like fires, earthquakes, hurricanes and many more. This also brings up the risk of higher casualties in case of a disaster because of more people being packed in such a small area. An article by the 'The New York Times' revealed that tall apartment blocks are 57% more likely to be crumbled or destroyed in case of an earthquake.
To conclude, there are factors which support both sides of the argument . There are merits and demrits of implementing this idea. Therefore both of them should be evaluated before implementing it.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of tall apartment blocks. However, the position is somewhat neutral and lacks a strong, clear stance throughout the essay. While the ideas are relevant, they are somewhat under-developed; for instance, the argument regarding disaster risks is presented but could have been supported with more nuanced reasoning rather than just citing statistics. To reach a higher band, ensure your position is clearly stated in the introduction and consistently maintained, and provide more depth in your supporting arguments to fully explore the implications of your points.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To commence with' and 'On the other hand', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally slightly awkward, such as 'Due to which it has been proposed'. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that the relationship between ideas is more naturally connected.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the student to express ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'metropolitan' and 'susceptible', but there are also several spelling errors ('populaton', 'housng', 'elborate', 'demrits') and minor word choice issues. The range is sufficient to convey the intended meaning, but the presence of these errors and the reliance on somewhat basic phrasing in places prevents a higher score. Focusing on accurate spelling and more precise collocations would significantly improve this score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as missing articles ('a 1000 people'), incorrect preposition usage ('To be explain it further'), and punctuation errors (spacing around commas). The control over complex structures is inconsistent, and while the errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable. To improve, the student should focus on subject-verb agreement, consistent article usage, and refining punctuation to ensure a more polished and accurate grammatical performance.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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