Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-07

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)

The rapid influx of people into metropolitian areas has triggered a severe housing shortage globally. While many argue tha constructing high rise apartments complexes is the ultimate solutions to this crisis. I believe that vertial expations is only a partial fix and it must be integrated with broader urbanization.

First of all, building a large number of tall apartments blocks can be very effective in small places in big cities, which can also help the citizens with low revenues to find the accomodations in their budget. For instance: a study condected in the University of Paris by the famous scientific Gadile in 2020, proves that building larger apartments in big cities can give many oppourtunites for a lot of person to find safe and low budget accomodations.

Then, it is fundamental to take into account that Enviormental system and the harmful effect by constructions of basemensts, apartments, can have on our planet. Therefore, every country should take into accounts that the importance of sustainable vision for the future. A clear example is Seoul, where clusters of modern apartment towers accomodate large numbers of residents close to subway lines and employment centers, the government also tried to find solutions for every needs to follow with the intenstion of polluting less.

In conclusion, I definetly think that it is necessary to create apartments blocks to find solutions, above all that everyone needs to have the possibility to find the accomodations and solutions regarding the large pollution that it can give rise to it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that high-rise buildings are only a partial solution. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. While you mention the benefits of high-density housing and environmental concerns, the supporting arguments lack depth. For example, the reference to a study by 'Gadile' is vague and lacks a clear connection to the argument. To reach a higher band, you should provide more detailed explanations of why tall buildings are or are not the 'best' way, perhaps by discussing infrastructure, social cohesion, or economic factors in greater detail. The position is clear, but the supporting evidence needs to be more robust and specific.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'First of all', 'Then', and 'In conclusion' to signal the structure. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the final paragraph where the connection between 'pollution' and 'accommodations' is muddled. The use of cohesive devices is sufficient to guide the reader, but the progression of ideas within paragraphs could be smoother. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence logically follows the previous one would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'urbanization', 'infrastructure', and 'clusters'. However, there are several spelling errors ('metropolitian', 'tha', 'vertial', 'expations', 'accomodations', 'condected', 'Gadile', 'oppourtunites', 'Enviormental', 'definetly') that occur frequently. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are noticeable and detract from the professional tone of the essay. To improve, focus on proofreading your work to catch these common spelling mistakes and try to incorporate more precise collocations to express your ideas more naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('building a large number of tall apartments blocks can be...'), incorrect article usage, and punctuation errors (e.g., the sentence fragment 'For instance: a study condected...'). While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors is high enough to impact the flow of the text. To achieve a higher score, you need to focus on sentence construction, particularly ensuring that complex sentences are punctuated correctly and that verb forms are consistent.

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

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