Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-23

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 considered that tall buildings and apartments is most appropriate to provide enough homes in cities. I largely agree with the statement because it is the best way to manage over population in cities with less space and it is also cheaper for residences ;however, it also have some demerits.

To begin with, nowadays it is often considered that cities have more job opportunities and better life so more and more people are migrating to cities which pose a significant challenge in front of builders to provide homes to such a wider population so the idea of making tall buildings act as a catalyst to manage this problem. Moreover, there is not even enough space in cities so that everyone can get a apartment in ground floor because population increases day by day in cities but land remains similar so this can also helps to manage land problem.

furthermore, the another advantage of this idea is that ground floors are usually expensive as compare to top floors and it is no easy for every individual to spend allot of money on residence only so people can look for top floors to spend less on such things. As an example, the US government built tall buildings and apartment in New York to manage above discussed problems. However, this have a negative view as well which is accidents and death causes tall buildings are always in danger of falling because natural disasters such as earthquakes not only this but to escape life people jump from these bulidings and commit sucide and give up their life so these builings require high maintainence and high security for residents.

In conclusion, although these buildings have their own de merits but merits of such ideas overtake them completely.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. The main ideas—urban density, land scarcity, and cost-effectiveness—are relevant and supported. However, the development is somewhat uneven. The argument regarding the disadvantages (safety and suicide) is less well-developed and relies on generalizations that lack nuance. While the prompt is addressed, the supporting arguments could be more sophisticated to reach a higher band. The conclusion is brief but restates the position effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To begin with', 'Moreover', and 'furthermore', although some transitions feel slightly mechanical. There is a clear progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. However, referencing is occasionally imprecise, and the flow between the advantages and the counter-argument regarding safety could be smoother to improve the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey their meaning clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'over population', 'catalyst', and 'natural disasters'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'give up their life' instead of 'take their own lives' and 'accidents and death causes'. The range is sufficient for the task, but the lack of precision in some areas limits the 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, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('tall buildings and apartments is', 'it also have', 'this can also helps') and article usage. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some run-on sentences and incorrect semicolon usage. These errors are frequent enough to occasionally distract the reader, though they do not impede overall communication.

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

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