Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-25

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 recent years, large cities are using tall apartment blocks to provide enough homes to the citizen. I partially agree with this compaign. This would help people of another city to come here and live in the apartments but this would be problematic for the elder people and it'll be hard for them to using staires.

This scheme would help people of smaller cities to come in the large cities and use apartments for living and do their job. This way it would be helpful for people and they can avail residency without any hastle. Moreover, by building tall apartments would provide wide range of space for commercial and bussines places. So, by living in apartments people can use more commerical space to start their businesses.

This compaign has two sides as a coin. It provides benefits but it also has some disadvantages as well. For instance. it's very ungreatfull for elder people as it'll be very hard for them get to the 3rd or 4th floor of an aparment. As we know elder people find it very difficult to move for a longer period. Most importantly, it's very noticable situation for emergency cases. For example, if someone face emergency case and it's very hard to shift the person from top floors to the embulance, this procedure will required a lot of time and maybe a infected person could face serious conditions due to the time management.

To conclude, buliding tall apartments helps citizen to move from smart cities to larger for job opporunities and live there by and also helps to get more space in commercial building but I believe it has noticable drawbacks as well. For isntance , aged people and emergency cases issues.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the pros and cons of tall apartment blocks. However, the development of ideas is limited. The argument regarding 'elderly people' and 'emergency cases' is repetitive and lacks depth. The suggestion that tall buildings are inherently problematic for the elderly because of 'staires' ignores the existence of elevators, which is a common feature in modern high-rise construction. The position is clear, but the supporting points are somewhat superficial and rely on generalizations. To improve, you should provide more nuanced arguments, such as the impact on urban density, infrastructure, or social isolation, rather than focusing solely on physical accessibility issues.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, 'This compaign has two sides as a coin' is an awkward attempt at an idiom. Transitions between sentences are sometimes abrupt, and the logical flow within paragraphs is hindered by repetitive phrasing. While there is a clear introduction and conclusion, the progression of ideas is not always smooth. Using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that pronouns clearly refer back to their antecedents would improve the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several spelling errors ('compaign', 'hastle', 'bussines', 'ungreatfull', 'embulance', 'isntance') and word choice issues ('smart cities' used incorrectly, 'infected person' used in an inappropriate context). The range is limited, and the essay relies on basic descriptors. To reach a higher band, you should focus on using more academic collocations and precise terminology related to urban planning and housing, while also ensuring that your spelling is accurate, as frequent errors can distract the reader and impede the flow of your argument.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally cause confusion. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('this procedure will required'), incorrect verb forms ('hard for them to using staires'), and punctuation errors. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. You should focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically ensuring correct tense usage and avoiding unnecessary word additions. Practicing complex structures like conditional sentences or relative clauses would also help demonstrate a wider grammatical range.

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

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