Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-10
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 recent years, a growing number of people want to live in large cities because cities provide plenty of job opportunities, good educational facility, and better healthcare facilities. One of the best way to provide enough houses in large cities is to build tall apartment blocks. I partially agree with this statement because cities provide lots of opportunity, however, there are also certain negative impacts.
To begin with, there are several explanations why large cities is build tall apartment. Initially, many people move in cities for better job opportunities and business purposes because they want to lead a better lifestyle. For example, in Bangladesh, people move to Dhaka and Chittagong mainly for job purposes. As a result, many land owner construct tall build to create living space. Additionally, students live in large cities for educational purposes and they live there for many year therefore cities provide enough homes by building tall apartment.
Despite this advantages, there are also some drawbacks. To elaborate, If a increasing number of people live in cities, sometimes they can brings serious environmentally problem. Furthermore, residents may also have limited access to garden, open spaces, and other recreational facilities. Moreover, constructing and maintaining tall building can be more expensive and they do not provide fresh water and air.
In conclusion, I partially agree tha
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, which significantly impacts the development of ideas. While you introduce the topic and state a position, the arguments remain underdeveloped and repetitive. For instance, the discussion on why people move to cities is somewhat generic and lacks a direct link to the necessity of tall apartment blocks. Furthermore, the essay is incomplete, ending abruptly in the conclusion. To improve, you must ensure all parts of the prompt are addressed with sufficient depth and provide a full, cohesive conclusion that summarises your main points.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay uses basic cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Additionally', and 'Furthermore' to link ideas. However, the progression of ideas is hindered by the lack of depth and the incomplete nature of the text. Paragraphing is attempted, but the final paragraph is cut off, which disrupts the overall structure. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the phrase 'there are several explanations why large cities is build tall apartment', where the connection between the cause and the solution is not logically articulated. Improving the flow between sentences and ensuring a complete structure will enhance coherence.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for basic communication but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on simple phrases like 'better lifestyle' and 'job opportunities'. There are also issues with word forms and collocations, such as 'many land owner construct tall build' (should be 'landowners construct tall buildings') and 'environmentally problem' (should be 'environmental problems'). To improve, try to incorporate more academic collocations and ensure correct word forms are used consistently throughout your writing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('large cities is build', 'people... can brings') and pluralization errors ('many year', 'this advantages'). The sentence structures are mostly simple or contain errors when attempting complexity. To reach a higher band, you need to focus on mastering basic subject-verb agreement, correct tense usage, and ensuring that complex sentence structures are grammatically sound. Proofreading for these common errors is essential.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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