Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-01
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)
The most significant way of giving the most of the shelter places in the huge town is by constructing the towering apartments blocks.In this essay i will clearly explain my thoughts to which extend this statement is true and the need of the tall apartments.
Firstly, to some extent i agree to this statement because in the the big growing cities there is a lot of need of the accommodation places because people from the rural areas are moving towards the big towns for better opportunities of getting job or most of the students shift in the major cities for their further education because they have not much opportunities in their own area for better education.So when more and more people are coming towards the metropolis they want some shelter places to live in so by building the tall apartment in an area can help to provide the accommodation to many of the people in the same building.Illustration as my friend live in an apartment in Muslim town Lahore and the building has about 53 floors and 5 apartments in each floor and many of the locals live in these apartments.
On the other hand somehow i am against of building much taller apartments because it can cause many dangers also for the building constructed around them the reason behind is that if the bases of the apartment building is not much stronger and after some time due to any natural disaster like flood, earthquake and many other like these the building fall down it can cause danger to the life of many individuals living in the apartments and the building around them.As an example in the previous days in Nepal due to the heavy flood a few of the taller buildings are seen destroyed because of their weak and not proper structured construction from the basics.
As a conclusion i thought that government has to make a department which make sure that the building has strong basis that last for the centuries and if anything happens the government will be responsible for this.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The essay addresses the prompt by discussing both the benefits and risks of tall apartment blocks. However, the development is somewhat uneven. While you provide a clear example of high-rise living in Lahore, the argument regarding safety risks is less well-developed and relies on a somewhat vague example of flooding in Nepal. To reach a higher band, ensure that your arguments are fully extended with more logical analysis rather than just stating a point. Your position is clear throughout, but the conclusion introduces a new idea about government departments rather than summarising your main points, which slightly weakens the overall task response.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use basic cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'On the other hand', and 'As a conclusion'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and there are instances where referencing is unclear, such as 'many other like these'. The transition between ideas could be smoother; for example, the jump from discussing urban migration to your friend's apartment in Lahore feels abrupt. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would enhance the logical progression.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on repetitive phrasing, such as 'shelter places', 'big towns', and 'tall apartment blocks'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'giving the most of the shelter places' and 'not proper structured construction'. To improve, try to use more academic collocations and synonyms to avoid repetition. For instance, instead of 'big growing cities', use 'rapidly urbanising metropolitan areas'. You have enough vocabulary to communicate your ideas, but it is not yet flexible or sophisticated.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Common issues include incorrect article usage ('in the the big growing cities'), subject-verb agreement ('my friend live' instead of 'lives'), and awkward phrasing ('if the bases of the apartment building is not much stronger'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with spacing after commas and periods. While your meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article consistency.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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