Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-31

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)

Some people believe that the most important way to provide enough residents in urban areas is by building tall apartment blocks. I strongly disagree with this because such building can increase the risk of fall or injury and also collapse which can lead to death.

Buildings built to be long can easily fall. Most of the time, due to greediness people tend to construct very big and long buildings way above what the ground could carry. When it becomes difficult to shoulder such height, it tends to fall and take alot of lives. For example, the tallest building in a place called Onitsha in Anambra fell on a fateful day when everyone was still asleep. Nobody could survive such tragedy and when questions were asked, it was said that the area is known for having housing issues which led the owner to create more flats by making the house longer and bigger than what it should be.

Children play alot even when an Adult is against the intensity. Sometimes, we tend to remove our eyes for a minute and that is exactly when things happens. A child could push another from a height, the person will fall and end up getting severally injured. If it were to be a shorter building, it wouldn't be same. Take for example, I met a boy in the Accident and Emergency section of the Hospital during ward rounds, he was severally injured and in a very bad shape. When i asked questions on what happened, the Father said the brother pushed him from height while playing.

In as much as tall buildings create more room for people to reside or have a roof over their heads, the disadvantage outweighs the advantage and should be looked into.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt but focuses on a narrow, somewhat illogical argument. By focusing almost exclusively on the structural instability of tall buildings and the risk of children falling, you fail to engage with the broader urban planning context, such as land scarcity, population density, or infrastructure efficiency. The argument that tall buildings are inherently prone to collapse due to 'greediness' is an over-generalisation and lacks a balanced perspective. While you clearly state your position, the development of ideas is limited to anecdotal evidence rather than a reasoned discussion of the topic. To improve, you should consider the socio-economic benefits and challenges of high-density living.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the progression of ideas is somewhat disjointed. While you use some cohesive devices like 'For example' and 'In as much as', the transitions between sentences can be mechanical. The logical flow is hindered by the limited scope of the arguments. Paragraphing is present, but the internal structure of the paragraphs could be more robust to ensure that each point leads naturally to the next. The use of referencing is generally clear, but the overall structure lacks the sophistication required for higher bands.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range expected at higher levels. You rely on basic descriptors such as 'big', 'long', and 'bad shape'. There are also some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'remove our eyes for a minute' (meaning to look away) and 'shoulder such height'. While the meaning is generally conveyed, the lack of academic register and the use of informal phrasing limit the score. Expanding your range to include more topic-specific vocabulary related to urban development would be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include 'such building can increase' (should be 'such buildings'), 'take alot of lives' (spelling error 'a lot'), and 'it wouldn't be same' (missing article 'the'). There are also issues with subject-verb agreement and punctuation. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable and suggest a lack of control over more complex grammatical forms. Focusing on proofreading for basic errors would improve your score.

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

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