Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

Todays world the current situation of our country is that there was a shortage of land for build huge houses in big cities.

Now a days every city have shortage of land to construct houses for living purpose. This problem is very common in every country and the cause of this problem is that our cities are full of market. In big cities there are much more facilities than the small cities or towns. And everyone want to live in the big cities. I agree with that statement that the best way to provide enough homes in large cities is to build tall apartment blocks. There are many advantages if we build tall apartments block. As the land in large cities is very expensive and everybody cannot afford the seperate land to build house. If there was 4 to 5 apartment blocks in the same land the land can give 5 homes to 5 different families, and every family can pay less cost.

As there are advantages for building tall apartment blocks there was some bad impact on lives of people how are living in these apartment blocks. In one building there was 4 to 5 flours and the family who lives on the top flour can face difficulty to reach to their block. One of the bad effect of tall apartments is shortage of fresh air in apartment blocks as their was not big area in front of their living rooms.

There are some problems in living on tall apartment blocks but I think that if a family can live in large city where they got many facilities and they are enjoying good life style so the tall apartment blocks are not bad for them.

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 development of ideas is limited. While you mention land scarcity and cost-effectiveness, the arguments are somewhat repetitive and lack depth. For instance, the discussion on the disadvantages—such as the difficulty of reaching higher floors or lack of fresh air—is underdeveloped and lacks specific examples or a more nuanced exploration of urban planning solutions. To improve, you should aim to expand on your points with more detailed explanations or real-world examples to fully satisfy the requirements of a Band 6 or higher.

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 quite basic and sometimes mechanical. Phrases like 'There are many advantages' and 'As there are advantages' are used repetitively. The transition between ideas is often abrupt, and the logical flow could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words (e.g., 'furthermore', 'consequently', 'on the other hand'). Additionally, some sentences are poorly connected, making the progression of arguments feel slightly disjointed at times.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but remains quite simple and repetitive. You frequently use basic terms like 'big cities', 'shortage', and 'bad'. There is little evidence of less common lexical items or precise collocations. For example, instead of 'shortage of land', you could use 'urban land scarcity'. The word choice is functional but lacks the flexibility and precision required for higher bands. To improve, focus on learning topic-specific vocabulary related to urban development and housing, and try to avoid repeating the same adjectives throughout the essay.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow of reading. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('every city have', 'there was 4 to 5 flours'), article usage ('the land in large cities'), and tense consistency ('there was a shortage'). The sentence structures are mostly simple or compound; there is a lack of complex sentence forms, which limits your ability to express more sophisticated ideas. Punctuation is also inconsistent. To reach a higher band, you need to focus on mastering basic subject-verb agreement and increasing the variety of your sentence structures.

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

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