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)

some people hold the belief that constructing tall buildings in big cities is the best way to provide enough homes. In my opinion, i agree with this statement because it can saves more land for construc tion and best utlisation of space needed for construction.

One of the main advantage of tall apartments is that it can accomodate more than 50 families with less ground area because of the smaller rooms and typical plan for all floors. This way we can save cost of construction and time required for completing the project.For example, apartments in toronto downtown can accomodate more than 100 families in a less ground area.Therefore build tall apartments can accomodate a large number of families in a short period of time because it uses typical plan for all floors and less ground area.

Secondly,Building tall apartment blocks can reduce pollution and improve environment quality because tall buildings does not require large area of land and hence low amount of deforestion. Additionally, Sewage treatment facilities can be improved and waste disposal can be properly done because of the construction of treatment plants in each building. Consequently,a large number of families can accomodate in a single chain of treatment plants and hence reduce pollution in cities.

In conclusion, the proper way of providing homes in is to build tall apartments instead of small buildings because it can accomodate more number of families in city in less ground area.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of tall apartment blocks. However, the essay is under the 250-word minimum, which limits the depth of development. While the main ideas—land efficiency and environmental benefits—are relevant, they are somewhat repetitive and lack detailed supporting evidence. The argument regarding 'sewage treatment' is a bit tenuous and could have been better explained. To reach a higher band, you need to expand your arguments with more specific examples and ensure you meet the word count requirement to allow for full development of your ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use basic cohesive devices like 'One of the main advantage,' 'Secondly,' and 'In conclusion' to signal the structure. However, the flow is sometimes mechanical, and there are issues with referencing and sentence-level cohesion. For instance, the transition between the environmental benefits and the sewage treatment point is abrupt. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would help the progression of ideas feel more natural and sophisticated.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are several spelling errors, such as 'utlisation,' 'accomodate,' 'deforestion,' and 'construc tion.' Additionally, some word choices are repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'construction' and 'ground area.' To improve, you should focus on using a wider variety of synonyms and collocations related to urban planning and sustainability, and pay closer attention to spelling accuracy, which currently hinders the overall quality of the writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay relies heavily on simple sentence structures. While there are attempts at complex sentences, they often contain grammatical errors, such as 'it can saves' (subject-verb agreement), 'tall buildings does not require' (subject-verb agreement), and 'a large number of families can accomodate' (passive voice needed: 'can be accommodated'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after periods. To improve, you should practice using a wider range of complex structures, such as conditional sentences or relative clauses, while ensuring subject-verb agreement and correct verb forms are maintained throughout.

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

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