Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-11

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 times we have noticed that in cities majority of construction is happening in order to build a tall apartment rather than making a small apartment or a bungalow. People are also interested in buying tall apartments and very less number of people are buying bungalows this days.

Furthermore, the people who need peace and want zero interaction with neighbors are buying bungalows and at some extent i think that taking a bungalow is a good choice rather than buying a flat in a tall apartment as during disaster like earthquake if the building was not make strong enough to handle the vibrations it might fall and you might lost your life as well as your loved ones.

Apart from this building a tall apartment blocks will provide shelter to huge number of crowd. In large metropolitan cities there are variety of people who came for business, job as well as to study. So to handle this huge amount of crowd we definitely need to make large apartments so that each and every person will get shelter. Lets understand it with an example, recently my friend got a job in gandhinagar and in gandhinagar we can see more bungalows and only some apartments so he find difficulty to get a house to reside.

To conclude, we can say that the best way to provide shelter to each and every people who are residing in that area is to build tall apartments and there are certain drawbacks of making tall apartments but the chances of happening disaster is less than 1 percent and if builders give proper attention like fixing vibration shock absorber at bottom than it can handle the vibration during earthquake so it is not a big problem if given proper attention.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the benefits and drawbacks of tall apartment blocks. However, the position is somewhat inconsistent; the introduction suggests a preference for bungalows, while the conclusion argues that tall apartments are the best solution. The development of ideas is limited, particularly regarding the 'drawbacks' mentioned in the conclusion, which are not explored in the body paragraphs. The example provided about Gandhinagar is relevant but lacks sufficient depth to fully support the argument. To improve, ensure your position is clearly stated in the introduction and maintained throughout, and provide more detailed, balanced arguments for both sides of the issue.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the flow between ideas is sometimes mechanical. Transitions like 'Furthermore' and 'Apart from this' are used, but the logical progression within paragraphs is occasionally disjointed. For instance, the transition from discussing earthquake safety to the need for housing in metropolitan areas is abrupt. The use of cohesive devices is basic and sometimes repetitive. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensure that each paragraph has a clear, singular focus that connects logically to the next.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. There is some repetition of basic terms like 'tall apartment' and 'bungalow'. Some word choices are slightly unnatural, such as 'taking a bungalow' or 'huge amount of crowd'. There are also minor errors in word formation and collocation, such as 'if the building was not make strong enough'. To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated synonyms and collocations related to urban planning and housing infrastructure.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally hinder clarity. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('if the building was not make strong') and tense inconsistencies ('he find difficulty'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some run-on sentences that lack necessary commas or conjunctions. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, particularly verb forms and sentence boundaries.

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

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