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)

These days large cities are getting densely populated, making accommodation a major issue for the people. The people who are living in the large cities might not consider this as a problem however, for people shifting to larger cities for various reasons find it as one of the main problems. One of the solution to this problem is the to build all apartment blocks.

Many people consider this the only solution to this problem and I agree with them. Large cities even though have enough space for many people but still now due to the dense population is has become a constrain. Houses takes up a lot of space which might be used for other actives and needs which helps people for example schools, hospitals, and work places. If tell apartments are build it would help many people to accommodate at a single place which in fact is more cost friendly than building a house and better for people especially coming to seek more snd new opportunities. Moreover, the maintenance of a house nowadays not as easy as it used to be and also costs a lot. Yes it is true that. a house can carry more people but the apartments build in these days do not even have constrain in how many people can it accommodate so this is also not an issue.

On the other hand when houses are being built it creates more opportunities for labour and other related sectors as the houses are build for separate families so more houses are made. Moreover, houses give a sense of authority to its owner in a way as the land belongs to him and a sense of achievement. It also gives a personal space to a family moving or to even an individual.

In conclusion, I think the sense of achievement is just a feeling which you can get in life from many other aspects. Therefore, I think a more practical way of solving the issue of accommodation in larger cities is to make tall apartment building so people get attracted to it and eventually see it as a trend and avoid wasting the land for just their personal use in this case making a house which can be used for the betterment of the society.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. You have identified the core issue—urban density—and provided arguments for tall apartment blocks, such as land efficiency and cost-effectiveness. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. For example, the counter-argument regarding the 'sense of authority' provided by individual houses is introduced but not fully explored in terms of its social or economic implications. While the main position is clear, some points, such as the claim that apartments have no constraint on capacity, are slightly underdeveloped or logically weak. To reach a higher band, ensure that every point is supported by a clear explanation or a concrete example.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'Moreover' and 'On the other hand,' to signal transitions between ideas. However, the flow is occasionally interrupted by awkward phrasing and mechanical errors in sentence structure, which makes the progression feel slightly disjointed at times. For instance, the transition between the introduction and the first body paragraph is abrupt. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive devices and ensuring that the relationship between sentences is clearly signposted to guide the reader more smoothly through your argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to express your ideas clearly. You use some relevant topic-specific terms like 'densely populated,' 'accommodation,' and 'maintenance.' However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and minor errors, such as 'all apartment blocks' (likely a typo for 'tall') and 'constrain' used as a noun instead of 'constraint.' Additionally, some phrasing is repetitive or slightly unnatural, such as 'cost friendly' instead of 'cost-effective.' To improve, try to incorporate more precise academic collocations and ensure that you are using words in their correct grammatical form.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but the accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in punctuation, subject-verb agreement, and article usage, such as 'One of the solution' (should be 'solutions'), 'Houses takes up' (should be 'take'), and 'If tell apartments are build' (should be 'tall' and 'built'). These errors are noticeable and occasionally distract the reader, though they do not completely impede communication. To move to a higher band, you need to demonstrate better control over complex structures and proofread carefully to eliminate basic grammatical slips that occur throughout the text.

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

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