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 this modern era it is considered that the best way to give enough accommodation in large urban areas is to construct tall apartment blocks. I partially agree and disagree with this statement

The primary reason for my opinion is that it would be a great beneficial for the environment ,wildlife, Moreover, it could be best for anti pollution. The main reason for increasing pollution is overpopulation in urban areas and the rest of people who lived in rural areas, Now they are migrating to urban. In fact they increase the pollution and population both by destroying the forest areas and making more building. if they have many accommodation in one building then it is great for wildlife there is no need to cut the forest however there will be no negative impact on wildlife. For instance university of East London did some research on this and they show a report ,that show most of the people are going to migrate to urban areas and have a major negative impact on wildlife moreover on the environment.

On the other hand if most people live in one building then they lose the health because there is insufficient sunlight and oxygen, In general the average life range become more less ,In fact people will died at the age of 40 to 45 years. There would be a health risk and point to be noticed there might be privacy issues with each others.

In conclusion, i partially agree or disagree with this statement, I agree because of there is less pollution ,less harmful for animals and best for urban areas on the other hand i disagree because of health risk and privacy issues.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of tall apartment blocks. However, the development of ideas is inconsistent. While the environmental argument is introduced, the supporting evidence regarding the 'University of East London' is vague and lacks depth. The counter-argument regarding health risks is underdeveloped and relies on extreme, unsubstantiated claims, such as people dying at age 40 to 45, which weakens the overall persuasiveness. To improve, ensure that arguments are supported by logical reasoning or realistic examples rather than hyperbolic statements. The position is clear, but the supporting points require more careful elaboration to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the flow between and within them is often mechanical. While some cohesive devices are used, such as 'Moreover', 'For instance', and 'On the other hand', they are sometimes used incorrectly or in a repetitive manner. The referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the second paragraph where the connection between rural-to-urban migration and the specific benefits of tall buildings is disjointed. Paragraphing is present, but the transition between the environmental benefits and the health risks is abrupt. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring a smoother progression of ideas would significantly enhance the coherence of the essay.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher score. There is some repetition of basic terms like 'pollution', 'wildlife', and 'accommodation'. Some word choices are awkward or incorrect, such as 'great beneficial' instead of 'greatly beneficial' and 'average life range become more less'. The attempt to use more academic vocabulary is evident, but the collocation is often unnatural. To improve, focus on learning collocations and using a wider range of synonyms to express complex ideas more accurately and naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the reader's understanding. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('people who lived in rural areas... they are migrating'), incorrect verb forms ('people will died'), and punctuation errors, such as missing spaces after commas and incorrect capitalization. While the meaning is generally conveyed, the high frequency of errors in basic sentence construction prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and refining complex sentence structures will be key to improvement.

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

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