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)

Some people believe that build tall and high apartment blocks are the best way to provide homes in urban areas because it will provide more space to the people. However, I strongly disagree with the former view as making apartment tall is not the only approach to provide homes to the residents.

Firstly, there are a lot of drawbacks to build tall apartments. First and foremost most significant reason is that it can cause overcrowding as it also leads to traffic, pollution and noise when large number of people reside at same place at once. For instance, people who lives in an apartment with many other people can cause to social and personal issues such as disturbance in studies when people next to door do not follow basic morale.

Secondly, large of number of residents in same apartment cause low quality of life to each and every person out there. One clear example of this is living in an apartment home will lead to depression because people in cities are not familiar with other and even people who lives near by you will not talk to you as much as they should. Another reason is apartment homes are undoubtly luxury, nevertheless there is no fresh air and no sense of belongingness between citizens.

In my opinion, although tall apartments provides many facilities and make people live in cities with families, however i believe that making tall apartments alone is not a better approach rather than governments should focus to develop more residential areas.

In conclusion, i argue that making tall buildings and apartments should be an opinion not an obligation on authorities as it leads to various kind of detrimental issues like overcrowding and pollution.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed the prompt by taking a clear position against the statement. However, the development of your ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention overcrowding and quality of life, the arguments lack depth and specific, well-explained examples. For instance, the claim that living in apartments leads to depression is a significant assertion that requires more nuanced justification to be convincing. Additionally, your suggestion to 'develop more residential areas' is vague and does not fully address the logistical challenges of urban housing. To reach a higher band, ensure that each body paragraph provides a more thorough exploration of the consequences of your chosen position, moving beyond general statements to more detailed, logical analysis.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'In conclusion' to signal the structure. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the use of referencing is occasionally unclear. For example, in the second paragraph, the transition between the idea of overcrowding and the specific example of 'disturbance in studies' is abrupt. Furthermore, some sentences are repetitive in their structure, which hinders the overall progression of your argument. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence logically builds upon the previous one will enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on common words like 'big', 'good', or 'many', and there are instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'making apartment tall' instead of 'constructing high-rise buildings' and 'no sense of belongingness'. There are also some errors in word choice, such as 'morale' (which refers to confidence/enthusiasm) instead of 'morals' or 'etiquette'. To improve, focus on learning collocations related to urban planning and social issues, and try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary to express your ideas with greater clarity and impact.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow of your writing. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('people who lives', 'apartments provides'), missing articles ('in same apartment'), and awkward sentence construction ('making apartment tall is not the only approach to provide homes'). While the meaning is generally clear, these persistent errors prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. You should focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, particularly with verb forms, pluralization, and the correct use of articles, as these are foundational to clear communication.

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

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