Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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 large cities, building multi-storied buildings is the best way to provide enough homes. I nether agree with this statement nor disagree with this. This essay will first discuss all the possible facts, then I will come to a conclusion.

To begin with, cities are becoming crowder day by day. People from many other cities, sub-cities or even villages come to large cities for education, business or job purpose. Therefore, more living areas are needed for these people. As the area of a city is limited, shortage of living areas in it are also seen. For this reason, tall builds with many apartments can be a solution. A number of families can accommodate in these buildings.

On the other hand, the environment of the cities are gradually affected by many factors. In a city, tall buildings can be seen everywhere. It affects the underground ecological balance. A large number of earthquakes happens in a year. If there is only tall buildings, one after another in all over the city, it significantly increases the number and risk of the earthquakes. So, keeping some free spaces in cities is a must. There is some rules and regulations for example, how many floors can be build in a building, how much free spaces to keep around the building, detailed instructions about the foundation of the buildings etc. All of these needs to be maintained properly to minimize the risks.

To conclude, I think building tall apartment blocks can be a good solution for providing enough homes to the citizens. But the policy of building multi-storied buildings which is provided city corporations and other authorized organizations should be maintained properly by the citizens. Thus, the problem can be solved.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt, but the position is not fully developed. You state you 'neither agree nor disagree' and then proceed to discuss both sides, which is acceptable, but your conclusion leans towards supporting the tall building solution without fully reconciling the environmental concerns raised in the second body paragraph. The ideas are relevant, such as urban density and earthquake risks, but the development is somewhat superficial. To reach a higher band, ensure your position is consistent throughout and provide more depth in your supporting arguments rather than listing general points.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use basic cohesive devices like 'To begin with', 'On the other hand', and 'To conclude' to signal transitions. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'If there is only tall buildings, one after another in all over the city'. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between ideas would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks range and precision. You rely on simple terms like 'crowder' (incorrect form of crowded), 'tall builds' (incorrect noun usage), and 'many factors'. There are some errors in word choice, such as 'accommodate' used intransitively ('families can accommodate' should be 'can be accommodated'). To improve, try to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to urban planning, such as 'urban sprawl', 'high-density housing', or 'infrastructure', and focus on using words in their correct grammatical forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('the environment of the cities are', 'shortage... are also seen', 'All of these needs') and incorrect word forms ('crowder', 'tall builds'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are persistent. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles and pluralization. Increasing your control over complex sentence structures will also help raise your score.

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

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