Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-05

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 argued around the world that the best possible solution to provide homes in large urban areas is to build large apartments. I firmly agree with statement because there are many benefits of building tall apartments such as less space and less cost will be required to accommodate many people and it will increase the trend among people about the shared resources.

Firstly, there will be less space and less cost required to make tall building to accommodate many people. It is now common in major cities, government or private enterprise buy some land on best location and builds hundreds of homes in that area. Compare to normal homes it took just 20% space to build all these apartments. On the other hand, in large cities there is a rise in real-state prices, so these apartments are more reasonable to buy than homes. Hence, it actually save the space and also save money in other terms.

Secondly, This living style increases the bonding between different people from different communities by shared resources. For example, all the apartments have some shared resources such water tank, security and many others. So, these resources increase connection between them in daily life. I think that it is better living style with a lot facilities and with a solution of major of the major problem of housing.

In a nut shell, I would argue that that building tall apartments will increase the bonding between people and comes with solution of major problem like housing in big cities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. The ideas regarding space efficiency and social cohesion are relevant, though they are somewhat underdeveloped. For instance, the argument about 'shared resources' increasing social bonding is a bit simplistic and could have been expanded with more concrete examples or deeper analysis. The introduction and conclusion are present, but the overall development of arguments lacks the depth required for a higher band. The response covers all parts of the task, but the supporting points remain at a surface level, which limits the score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'In a nut shell' are used to signal the structure. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical, and there are instances where the flow between sentences feels slightly disjointed. Referencing is generally clear, but the transition between the idea of 'shared resources' and 'social bonding' could be smoother. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate, and the logical flow is sufficient to follow the writer's argument without difficulty.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision expected at higher levels. The writer uses basic terms like 'big cities', 'good', and 'better living style', which are repetitive. There are some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'real-state prices' (real estate) and 'with a solution of major of the major problem'. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning, there is little evidence of less common lexical items or sophisticated collocations. To improve, the student should focus on using more precise academic vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the best possible solution', 'the government or private enterprise'), subject-verb agreement, and prepositions. For example, 'it actually save the space' should be 'it actually saves space', and 'Compare to normal homes' should be 'Compared to normal homes'. While these errors do not impede communication, they are persistent throughout the text. A wider range of error-free complex structures is needed to reach a higher band.

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

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