Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-26

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 constructing high-rise buildings is the most effective solution to the housing shortage in big cities. I strongly agree with this view because high-rise buildings creates possible way to create sustainable urban development and make better use of empty land.

One of the main reasons for building tall apartment blocks is that is the availability and price of the land. The price of land in big-cities are much expensive. People can't afford to have their own building also with a land. So, many people buy a land and construct it into high rise building so that people can live as much as it can afford. By doing these their is less burden on transport. Cause roads can have enough space to build. By that there will be enough space for green land surrounding cities.

another significant advantage is that apartment can be build with some important infrastructure and public services. For high rise buildings there can be plenty of enough spaces to build playground, hospitals, postal services and government service buildings. To build a modern city those infrastructure are also important for the people. For instance, People in New York city live with all the facilities what a modern high raise building city wanted. Consequently, resident can have the modern transport alongside with all government public facilities whatever they wanted to have.

In conclusion, I firmly believe that constructing tall apartment buildings is the best way to meet the growing housing demand in large cities. When supported by proper planning and modern infrastructure, this approach offers a practical, sustainable, and long-term solution to urban housing challenges.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. The ideas are relevant, focusing on land efficiency and infrastructure, though the development is somewhat repetitive. For instance, the argument regarding land price and transport is a bit circular, and the explanation of how high-rise buildings create space for green land is underdeveloped. While the position is consistent, the supporting arguments could be more nuanced to reach a higher band. The response covers all parts of the task, but the depth of analysis is limited, keeping it at a solid level where the main points are clear but not fully explored.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'One of the main reasons', 'another significant advantage', and 'Consequently'. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly inaccurate, such as the transition 'By doing these their is less burden'. Additionally, some sentences lack smooth flow due to grammatical errors, which occasionally makes the progression of ideas feel slightly disjointed. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but the internal cohesion within paragraphs could be improved by varying the linking phrases and ensuring better logical flow between sentences.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the student to express their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'sustainable urban development', 'infrastructure', and 'housing shortage'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'high-rise buildings creates' (subject-verb agreement), 'big-cities are much expensive' (incorrect comparative structure), and 'high raise building' (spelling/collocation). The range is sufficient to communicate the message, but the lack of precision and occasional errors in word formation prevent a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'high-rise buildings creates', 'their is less burden', and 'apartment can be build'. These errors are persistent and sometimes affect the clarity of the sentence. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors—particularly with subject-verb agreement, articles, and passive voice construction—limits the score. To improve, the student should focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and ensuring that complex structures are formed correctly.

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

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