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)

As far as this topic is concerned, i would like to say that the impact of building tall apartment blocks in large cities is the best way to provide homes which has always been debatable and has now become more controversial with many people claiming that it is beneficial while others reject this notion. The substantial influence of this trend has sparked the controversy over the potential impact in the recent years. From my perspective, the former proposition appears to be more rational. This essay will further elaborate my views for favoring the positive or negative impact of this trend and thus will lead to a logical conclusion.

Analyzing the statement further, the primary reason behind this is due to a huge demand of accommodation in urban areas. As more and more people are moving to big cities for better job opportunities and quality of life. In my experience, when i was in Lahore for my studies it was very hard for me to find a separate apartment for me , I have to live in a shared accommodation which is not appreciated by everyone. Categorically discussing, it cannot be ignored that the new homes are more in demand than ever. Moving further, it is pertinent to mention that it is the basic duty of the government to build a tall residential buildings in order to provide affordable accommodations.

To encapsulate, I would like to appeal to the learned figures to come forward, focus their gaze at this matter and launch a vigorous campaign to reform it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt but lacks sufficient development. While you state your position clearly in the introduction, the body paragraphs are underdeveloped. You mention the demand for housing and your personal experience in Lahore, but you do not explore the counter-arguments or the broader implications of tall buildings (e.g., infrastructure, social impact, or environmental factors) in enough depth to reach a higher band. The conclusion is also abrupt and does not summarize the main points, instead introducing an irrelevant call to action. To improve, ensure each body paragraph provides a clear topic sentence followed by detailed supporting arguments and examples.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. The introduction is overly wordy and repetitive, using phrases like 'the impact... is the best way... has always been debatable'. While some cohesive devices are used, such as 'Moving further' and 'To encapsulate', they feel somewhat mechanical. The transition between the personal anecdote about Lahore and the general argument about government duty is abrupt. Furthermore, the final paragraph does not effectively synthesize the preceding arguments, which disrupts the overall flow of the essay. Improving the logical connection between sentences would enhance the coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for higher bands. You rely on somewhat generic phrasing such as 'huge demand', 'big cities', and 'quality of life'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'favoring the positive or negative impact of this trend', which is confusing given that you have already taken a clear stance. To achieve a higher score, try to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to urban planning, such as 'high-density housing', 'urban sprawl', or 'infrastructure development', and avoid repetitive sentence structures.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

There is a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but accuracy is inconsistent. You have several grammatical errors, such as 'i would like to say' (capitalization), 'a huge demand of accommodation' (preposition error), and 'build a tall residential buildings' (article/pluralization error). Additionally, there are punctuation issues, such as the space before the comma in 'me , I'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to lower the score. Focus on subject-verb agreement, correct article usage, and consistent capitalization to improve your accuracy.

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

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