Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-03

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 high-rise buildings are best for large cities to cover up less space and provide enough homes. While high rise-buildings can accommodate a huge amount of people and invade people privacy. I totally disagree with this concept since, children don't have space to play. In addition, there is a lot of noise and it's cause to mental or physical health as well. There is no objection regarding that high-rise buildings provide a lot of accommodation to people but this system damages people mentally.

On the one hand, there are a lot of cities that only have flats rather than suburban housing. Furthermore, a huge amount of people are in under one roof and the people who own an apartment they don't have space to take fresh breath in air because they don't have their own roof. One of the disadvantage is the place is so overcrowded and people don't have privacy and there are numerous noises of people. For instance, an aged person who is living in an apartment and he is not well so, this is not the good place for his health. And the biggest problem most of people face is stairs. I consider that there is a lift in most of apartments so it's so convenient for the people who are not able to use stairs and for the people who are using lift in their daily life. Although what about those people who are not able to take a lift because of claustrophobia. So, they are still using stairs and plenty of apartments have no lift and what about the people who don't have even option between choosing a lift or stairs.

On the other hand, the people who are living in suburban are enjoying their life. Moreover, they are more happy rather than the people who are living in an apartment. You are with your family and take pure air because you own a roof and a courtyard.

People who have suburban , they don't have any issue regarding expensive bills because they equipped their roof with solar panels.

It's your choice to make your house detached or single story house and in house there are plenty of rooms and everyone has their own space to rest. You design your home by your own choice. No one will you because you own your home. When you come home from a tired day you need some privacy and home gives you a comfortable place to rest.

So, overall I prefer to live in suburban rather than living in tall apartment blocks. As suburban give you more privacy and place to rest. Additionally you Utilize your roof for solar panels and courtyard to take fresh air instead of an apartment where you don't have any privacy.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position against tall apartment blocks. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. While you mention health and privacy, the arguments are often repetitive or lack depth. For instance, the paragraph regarding stairs and lifts is quite long but focuses on a narrow, specific issue rather than broader urban planning concerns. To reach a higher band, ensure that each paragraph focuses on a distinct, well-supported argument. The conclusion is clear, but the overall development is slightly simplistic, focusing more on personal preference than a balanced analysis of the urban housing crisis.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or repetitive (e.g., 'In addition', 'Furthermore', 'On the one hand'). Some transitions are awkward, such as 'Although what about those people...', which disrupts the flow. Referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the second paragraph where the connection between the elderly person example and the broader argument about apartment living is slightly disjointed. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to express your ideas, but it is often repetitive and lacks precision. Phrases like 'take fresh breath in air' and 'no one will you' (which seems to be a typo) indicate a need for more natural collocations. You rely on basic descriptors like 'good place' or 'huge amount'. To improve, try to incorporate more academic vocabulary related to urban planning, such as 'high-density housing', 'urban sprawl', or 'infrastructure'. There are also several minor errors in word choice that occasionally make the meaning slightly less clear.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'there is a lot of noise and it's cause to mental...'), incorrect article usage, and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'the people who own an apartment they don't have space'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma placement. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to lower the score. Focusing on sentence construction and proofreading for basic grammatical slips will help you achieve a higher band.

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