Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-27

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)

Rapid urbanization are putting extra pressure on the house providers, especially in big cities. Now rise building with plenty of apartments is consider the only solution. I largely agree with this point, but I'm concern that by constructing tall buildings, it will eventually encourage the social isolation related problems.

The most compelling argument for constructing tall buildings with plenty of apartments is due to rapid surge in urbanization, it puts an extra pressure on cities which eventually getting overcrowded, with too many homes. For instance Singapore experienced the same problem in past decade. So, the best way to tackle this problem is to build a large buildings with lot of apartments in city center to accommodate large proportion of individuals along with their families. Also, it is more convenient to provide the necessities like water, electricity in one building which cover 100 of apartment in the same time.

Critics raised a valid concern, that in tall buildings the individuals are more like to experience social isolation, due to mostly neighbors are busy in their own work, and don't have time to share thoughts which ultimately leads to the depression and anxiety issues. Moreover, children also have not any ground for sports, and very limited options for fun. In addition, elderly people mostly prefer to grow vegetables for kitchen in their garden, but in apartments there is no space for such activities.

In conclusion, where tall apartment buildings provide homes for families, it also raise some issues which must not be ignored.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position, though the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. You provide a relevant argument for tall buildings (efficiency and infrastructure) and a counter-argument regarding social isolation. However, the explanation of these points is relatively brief and lacks depth. For instance, the example of Singapore is mentioned but not fully explained in relation to the effectiveness of tall buildings. To improve, ensure that each main point is supported by a more detailed explanation or a more specific, well-integrated example. The conclusion is also quite abrupt and does not fully summarize your position or offer a final thought on the balance between the two sides.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use some cohesive devices such as 'For instance', 'Also', 'Moreover', and 'In addition'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the use of referencing is occasionally unclear (e.g., 'the same problem' refers back to a general concept rather than a specific antecedent). The transition between the advantages and disadvantages could be smoother to better reflect the complexity of your argument. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'urbanization', 'accommodate', and 'compelling argument'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'rise building' instead of 'high-rise buildings', 'house providers' instead of 'housing providers', and 'individuals are more like to experience' instead of 'more likely'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the precision of your writing. To reach a higher band, focus on learning common collocations and using more sophisticated vocabulary to express your ideas with greater accuracy.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('Rapid urbanization are', 'building... is consider') and article usage ('the past decade', 'the electricity'). Additionally, there are issues with pluralization and preposition usage, such as '100 of apartment' and 'have not any ground'. While these errors rarely prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they are frequent enough to affect the overall fluency of the text. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy will significantly improve your score.

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

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