Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-30

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)

Due to the increase in population there is shortage of accommodation for people. A group of people argue that the appropriate way to provide shelter to people metropolis by constructing tall apartment blocks. I completely agree with this because of the increase in population and also building houses in large cities will help children to get access to adequate education.

Nowadays, the population is rapidly growing who need proper houses, apartments to survive and have a living. Constructing tall apartments will take up less area of land and accommodate a lot of people. For example, building a tall apartment will enable people to live at one single place in different floors and however, it will take less space with people getting proper place to live.

Secondly, living in metropolis cities the children can have proper access to education and other various facilities which the rural areas lack. Education is a necessity and each and every child to have access to smart and hi-tech education system. For instance, the children in rural areas have lack of resources due to which they are not able to shine and showcase the abilities and talents. Consequently, building tall apartments will facilitate such children which will contribute in the growth of the country.

To sum up everything stated so far, building tall apartment blocks will not only facilitate in accommodation of lot of people but also help children to get access to appropriate education and help them grow mentally and socially without considering themselves to poor and not be able to get proper education.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of tall apartment blocks. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. While the argument regarding land efficiency is relevant, the second body paragraph focuses heavily on the benefits of urban education rather than directly linking it to the necessity of tall buildings. The connection between high-rise living and educational access is tenuous and lacks specific, logical development. To reach a higher band, you should ensure that every supporting point directly reinforces the main argument about why tall buildings are the 'best way' to solve housing shortages.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear introduction and conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Nowadays,' 'Secondly,' and 'Consequently,' though some transitions feel a bit mechanical. The progression of ideas is generally easy to follow, but the internal structure of the second paragraph is slightly repetitive. Referencing is mostly clear, though some sentences, such as 'building a tall apartment will enable people to live at one single place in different floors,' are slightly awkward, which impacts the flow of information. Improving the variety of linking words would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks sophistication. You use basic terms like 'proper houses,' 'get access,' and 'shine,' which limit the precision of your argument. There are some minor collocation issues, such as 'have a living' instead of 'make a living' or 'earn a living.' While the meaning is always clear, the range of vocabulary is not broad enough to demonstrate the flexibility required for a higher band. Incorporating more topic-specific collocations related to urban planning and demographics would significantly improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'A group of people argue that the appropriate way to provide shelter to people metropolis' (missing preposition 'in') and 'the children in rural areas have lack of resources' (should be 'lack resources' or 'have a lack of'). Additionally, there are issues with article usage and sentence fragments. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct preposition usage will help improve accuracy.

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

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