Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-08

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)

In todays world there has been a drastic increase in the human popullation and i agree to the fact that tall apartment blocks are necesarily required as it can accomodate large no. of homes in smaller land and can also be less expensive to afford in this economy.

A tall apartment can accomodate numerous no. of people in a single building which can save a lot of land space for other activities like parks and open grounds. for example, Many buildings in mumbai are almost 24 floors with accomodating 12 rooms each floor. these types of apartments gives an advantage to the large cities since they are more populated than country side.

Large cities are quite expensive due to its increase in economy and can be harder to survive for a middle class individual or an university student. Building such apartments can be a source of easier accesibilityin cities to such individuals. for example, Buying a land and building a house is quite expensive instead owning a flat or an apartment in large cities saves up a lot of money and is affordable. University students can easily rent out such appartments for their duration of study.

Taking everything into account i strongly agree that the ultimate strategy to provide enough homes in larger cities is to build tall apartment blocks. they save money and can also free up some space for open ground

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 fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, which significantly impacts the development of ideas. While the arguments regarding land efficiency and affordability are relevant, they are somewhat repetitive and lack the depth required for a higher band. The examples provided, such as the mention of Mumbai, are helpful but could be expanded to better illustrate the broader socio-economic implications. To improve, you should aim to provide more detailed explanations and perhaps consider counter-arguments to create a more balanced and comprehensive discussion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use basic cohesive devices like 'for example' and 'taking everything into account' to link ideas. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes mechanical, and the transitions between sentences could be smoother. The use of referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the connection between the Mumbai example and the general argument about city population density could be more explicitly stated. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would enhance the overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your main points clearly. However, there are several spelling errors, such as 'popullation', 'necesarily', 'accomodate', and 'accesibilityin'. Additionally, some word choices are repetitive or slightly unnatural, such as 'numerous no. of people' and 'increase in economy'. To achieve a higher band, you should focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and ensuring correct spelling. Incorporating a wider range of topic-specific collocations related to urban planning and economics would also demonstrate a stronger lexical range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, including issues with subject-verb agreement ('these types of apartments gives'), article usage ('an university student'), and punctuation (missing capital letters at the start of sentences and after periods). The sentence structure is often basic, and the lack of variety in complex forms limits the score. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and practice integrating more sophisticated sentence structures, such as relative clauses or conditional sentences, to add variety to your writing.

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

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