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)

Constructing high rise residential towers is the most effective way to provide homes in populated urban cities. As we talk about Karachi, the most crowded city of Pakistan. There are multiple of people who are living in poor living areas which ultimately effect their health or well being.

From my perspective, this is the best approach to build larger towers. But these should not be build together or in a particular area. They should be in multiple areas or towns. Additionally, In such a way more people can have apartments in a single place. Instead of constructing two or three homes. This idea can also be implemented for the flood affected families.

There was a recent disaster reported in Nepal due to glacier burst. Thousands of people were homeless. If they build skyscrapers and provide apartments to those effected families. It will be a big relief for them.

I can disagree the above statement if we create residential apartments in a single area. That can leads to direct effects on environment or beauty of that particular town. Or it can have some negative impacts that some people could not get direct sunlight, others could not have easy access to go the market or outside. Older people or people having fear of elevator will not be able to live in upper floors of building.

Overall, its a great concept if applicable in a best possible way, installing elevator, keeping in mind people of all ages and easy access to daily life necessities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the construction of high-rise buildings, but the development is inconsistent. While you provide a clear position, the arguments are somewhat underdeveloped. For instance, the mention of the Nepal disaster is a relevant example, but the connection to the prompt's focus on 'large cities' is not fully explored. The discussion on the disadvantages is present but lacks depth, as it focuses on minor logistical issues rather than broader urban planning concerns. To improve, ensure each paragraph focuses on a single, well-supported argument that directly relates to the prompt's core question about the efficacy of tall buildings in urban environments.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical progression between ideas is sometimes disjointed. You use some cohesive devices like 'Additionally' and 'Overall', but others are used incorrectly or mechanically, such as starting sentences with 'But' or 'Instead of'. The referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the paragraph discussing the Nepal disaster, where the transition to the argument about high-rises feels abrupt. Paragraphing is present, but the internal structure of the paragraphs needs more careful planning to ensure that each sentence flows naturally into the next, creating a more cohesive argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. You rely on basic phrasing such as 'big relief', 'best possible way', and 'poor living areas'. There are also some word-choice errors, such as 'effect their health' (should be 'affect') and 'can leads to' (should be 'can lead to'). To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more academic collocations and precise terminology related to urban planning, such as 'high-density housing', 'infrastructure', or 'urban sprawl', rather than relying on general, repetitive language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow of reading. Examples include 'these should not be build' (should be 'built'), 'I can disagree the above statement' (should be 'I disagree with'), and 'That can leads to'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some sentence fragments and comma splices. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors suggests a need for more careful proofreading and a better grasp of verb forms, subject-verb agreement, and prepositional usage.

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

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