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)

In many metropolitian cities, increasing popluation cause serious house shortage issues. It is often argued that an effective way to provide enough houses in laege urban areas is to construct high-rise buildings. I firmly agree with this view because tall apartment blocks can accommodate a large number of people and better use of urban land.

The primary reason i support this perspective is that tall buildings can accommodate a significant proportion of individuals and effective use of land. In urban areas, vacant area are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive that is diffcult for residents to construct their own houses, That's why, constructing vertical buildings are more beneficial and enables the authorities to build more tall buildings for accomodation. To illustrate this, developed countries like Singapore has already addressed this problem and constructed high-rise apartments where a considerable number of residents lives.

Another crucial argumrent is that tall buildings enable the cities to preserve space and use for other efficient purposes. Low-rise buildings need more space, leaving less space for offices, schools, recreational parks and parking. This is the reason building tall buildings accommodate a large number of residents in the same building and more space left for other apartments Furthermore, high-rise buildings make the public transport more accessible. To exemplify this, China has constructed tall buildings along with the efficent transport system, where metro passes through the buildings.

In conclusion. the best way to provide enough homes in large urban areas is to build vertical buildings because in high-rise buildings, a large figure of residents stay and use the land more effectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt clearly and maintains a consistent position throughout. The arguments regarding land efficiency and infrastructure are relevant and supported by examples, such as Singapore and China. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat repetitive; for instance, the point about land usage is restated in both the second and third paragraphs without significant new depth. To reach a higher band, you should ensure each paragraph introduces a distinct, fully developed point rather than circling back to the same concept. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, but the depth of analysis could be improved to move beyond general statements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To illustrate this', 'Another crucial argument', and 'Furthermore', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are issues with sentence-level cohesion, such as the comma splice in '...expensive that is diffcult for residents to construct their own houses, That's why...'. Additionally, the concluding sentence is a bit repetitive of the introduction. Improving the flow between sentences and using a wider variety of linking words would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'metropolitan', 'high-rise', and 'accommodate'. However, there are several spelling errors ('metropolitian', 'popluation', 'laege', 'argumrent', 'accomodation') and some awkward collocations, such as 'a large figure of residents' instead of 'a large number of residents'. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning, the frequency of spelling mistakes and the lack of more sophisticated, precise academic vocabulary limit the score. Focusing on proofreading and learning topic-specific collocations will help improve this area.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, they often contain errors, such as 'In urban areas, vacant area are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive that is diffcult for residents to construct their own houses'. There are also subject-verb agreement issues, such as 'a considerable number of residents lives' (should be 'live') and 'increasing popluation cause' (should be 'causes'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of commas and periods. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and ensuring that complex sentences are grammatically sound.

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

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