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)

It is widely believed that building heighted apartments blocks is the best solution to provide maximum number of homes in large cities. I completely agree with this belief due to two main reasons. Firstly, it requires minimal land, and secondly, may help in beautification of a city.

Building tall apartments may help in reducing land requirement. This is because a huge population may not only prefer to live in big cities but may also want their own home. Therefore, tall apartments are helpful in building many homes on the same land. This will also results in reducing cost. For example, if 10 people build their homes separately, result is shortage of land and increase in cost as compare to heighted apartments where many homes can be constructed on the same land.

Furthermore, tall apartments enhance beauty of a city. This is due to the reason that humans are generally attracted toward the tall building. Moreover, a well organized structure of tall buildings provides a pleasant view. As a result, a city looks more modern and beautiful. It is common belief that individual are more attracted and prefer to live in the big cities, where streets often provide a pleasant view.

To conclude, although, tall apartments are difficult to construct initially, its benefits like reducing cost, beautifying a city and requiring minimal land are more essential. Thus, I completely agree that building large apartment is more better to provide many homes.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. However, the essay is under the 250-word minimum requirement, which negatively impacts the development of ideas. While the two main reasons—land efficiency and city aesthetics—are relevant, the supporting arguments are somewhat repetitive and lack depth. For instance, the explanation regarding cost is underdeveloped, and the claim that tall buildings are inherently 'beautiful' is a subjective assertion that could have been supported with more concrete examples or nuanced analysis. To reach a higher band, you must expand your points further to meet the length requirement and provide more sophisticated reasoning.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Furthermore', and 'To conclude' to link your points. However, the use of these devices is somewhat mechanical. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the comparison between 10 people building homes is slightly confusing. To improve, try to use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that the transition between sentences feels more natural rather than relying on a rigid structure.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on repetitive phrasing, such as 'tall apartments' and 'big cities'. There are also some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'heighted apartments' (should be 'high-rise' or 'tall') and 'more better' (a grammatical error that also reflects limited lexical control). To improve, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and avoid repeating the same terms throughout the essay.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow of reading. Examples include 'This will also results in' (subject-verb agreement), 'as compare to' (should be 'compared to'), and 'more better' (double comparative). While the meaning is generally clear, these errors are persistent. To achieve a higher score, you need to demonstrate better control over complex sentence forms and ensure that basic grammatical rules, such as subject-verb agreement and comparative structures, are applied correctly.

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

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