Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-22

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)

It is often argued that the efficient way of providing sufficient homes in bigger cities is to construct tall apartment blocks.

I completely disagree with this statement of building large apartment because it is not the right solution to reduce the scarcity of the homes in large cities as it will only cause severe congestion and poor living environment.

The primary reason why I believe is that the living environment becomes very limited and conjested, hence people feel suffocated living in large buildings. Furthermore, another crucial factor is that they have to pay high maintenance cost by living there and additionally cannot have access to basic utilities. There may be inadequate amount of parking space because of the overcrowdness in the area and children may also lack of public park to enjoy.

One best approach is investing on high-rise urban citites to build a small homes of 1 or 2 blocks so that residents can live freely and get better access to facilties such as transportation and also finding basic amenities. Another best way is to shift the business space, shops, and companies to the other side of the cities so that there is enough space for people to live and they can travel there for their work. For instance, European cities have built small independent houses of 1 or 2 blocks which I believe is way far better. By doing this, there will be sufficient homes and space for school childrens living there.

In conclusion, I strongly believe that building tall apartment blocks for homes is not an efficient way. Residents will only suffer from crowdness and therefore end up shifting themselves after being frustrated at one point of time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention congestion and maintenance costs, these points are not fully explored or supported with specific evidence. The alternative suggestion of 'shifting business space' is a relevant idea, but it lacks depth. To improve, ensure that each body paragraph provides a more detailed explanation or a concrete example to support your claims. The conclusion restates your position, but the argument would be stronger if you had elaborated more on the social or economic impacts of high-rise living versus your proposed alternatives.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'In addition', and 'For instance' to link sentences. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or repetitive. Additionally, some transitions between ideas feel abrupt, such as the jump from maintenance costs to parking spaces. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensure that the relationship between sentences is more fluid and natural.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on somewhat basic phrasing like 'big cities' and 'small homes'. There are also some issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'overcrowdness' (which is not standard English) and 'small independent houses of 1 or 2 blocks' (which is slightly confusing). To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary related to urban planning and housing, and focus on using words in their correct collocations.

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 distract the reader. Examples include 'the efficient way' (should be 'an efficient way'), 'lack of public park' (should be 'lack of public parks'), and 'school childrens' (should be 'school children'). Additionally, there are issues with article usage and pluralization throughout the text. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to limit the score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and plural forms will help improve your accuracy.

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

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