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)

It is argued that a preferable way of giving home holds in big cities is by building tall apartment areas. I largely disagree with this statement because of poor quality of life and lack of space.

Firstly, providing homes in the form of apartment blocks is a bad quality of living style. People who live in tall buildings faced many hardships, there privacy might be hurt by crowded places. Although in tall apartments many families can survive, it is expensive to live there. People pay high rents and utility bills of living in tall towers, yet could not find psychological well-being. For example, in recent study, many families are surviving in apartments who do not have their personal life and resources. As a result they faced lack of facilities and cannot fulfill their other expenditures because these places required more spending of money.

Secondly, individuals who live in apartments they do not have space. If there are 5 members of a family how they will survive in 2 rooms apartment. They need to have different space for doing other curriculum activities such as study or meeting. Furthermore, everyone wants privacy at this age that could not be possible in less space place. For instance, most of people of young generation in spending time outdoors due to lack of space in their homes. They managed their all activities out of the door.

In conclusion, living in apartments which are made by heavy machinery is extremely expensive. People forget their dreams and only pay rents. I firmly disagree that there should be tall building blocks for people . They live low quality of life and do not have space.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position against tall apartment blocks. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. While you mention 'poor quality of life' and 'lack of space,' the arguments lack depth and specific, logical evidence. For instance, the claim that 'most people of young generation' spend time outdoors due to lack of space is a generalization that is not well-supported. To improve, ensure that each body paragraph focuses on a distinct, well-explained point with more concrete examples rather than repeating the same concerns about cost and space throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or slightly unnatural. For example, the transition 'For instance, most of people of young generation in spending time outdoors' is grammatically awkward and disrupts the flow. Additionally, the referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the link between family size and 'curriculum activities' is confusing. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence logically follows the previous one will help achieve a higher band score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward word choices, such as 'giving home holds' instead of 'providing housing,' and 'bad quality of living style' instead of 'poor standard of living.' You also use repetitive phrasing, such as 'survive' and 'space,' which limits the impact of your arguments. To improve, try to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to urban planning and housing, and focus on using collocations more accurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('people... faced,' 'most of people... in spending'), article usage ('in recent study'), and awkward phrasing ('apartments which are made by heavy machinery'). While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors like pluralization and verb tense consistency would be highly beneficial.

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

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