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)

The best and easiest way to provide homes in big cities is to built gaint apartment blocks. it is the unique way beacuse people came from other countries and cities and don't have homes in those cities where they came due to the some reasons like for studies or for job. I prefered the apartment because there are all oppurtunity under a roof and it's cheap instead of buy the personal room. For example i am a student. there is no university in my city. i went to lahore for studies there bI don't buy a home and i don't have enough budget to buy. i prefered to live in apartment or sharing room. The rent for the apartment room is low as compared to the whole home. In other situation I prefered to buy a home not apartment. For example if i shifted with my family to the other country or city than its safe to buy a home. Todays apartments are well built and provided all the opportunities that a person need. In apartment there many family lived a a time. But in home one family lived at one time. If we made apartment, in small space many family live.

The one benefit of apartment is less use of agricultural land in future. Wastage of agriculture land decreased due to this. There are now large number of apartments in large cities like Islamabad.

In conclusion, I agreed that tall apartment blocks are the best way to provide enough homes in large cities.

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 and somewhat repetitive. While you mention the benefits of housing students and saving agricultural land, the arguments lack depth and academic support. The personal anecdote about moving to Lahore is too informal and does not effectively support the broader argument regarding urban planning. To improve, you should focus on expanding your points with more objective reasoning, such as the economic efficiency of high-density housing or infrastructure management, rather than relying on personal experiences.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the flow between ideas is often disjointed. You use some basic cohesive devices like 'For example' and 'In conclusion,' but the transitions between sentences are frequently abrupt. The logical progression is hindered by repetitive phrasing, such as the repeated use of 'I prefered' and 'In apartment.' The paragraphing is present but could be more effectively used to separate distinct arguments, such as the economic benefits versus the environmental benefits. Improving the use of linking words and referencing would help the reader follow your argument more smoothly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is limited and repetitive, which restricts your ability to express complex ideas. You frequently use basic terms like 'big,' 'good,' and 'home.' There are also several spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'gaint' (giant), 'beacuse' (because), and 'oppurtunity' (opportunities). While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of variety and the presence of errors prevent a higher score. To improve, try to incorporate more precise academic vocabulary related to urban development, such as 'high-density housing,' 'urban sprawl,' or 'sustainable development,' and pay closer attention to spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay relies heavily on simple sentence structures. There are frequent grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'many family lived'), tense inconsistencies ('I prefered'), and missing articles. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with several instances of lowercase letters at the start of sentences. While these errors do not completely prevent communication, they are frequent enough to be distracting. To reach a higher band, you need to demonstrate more control over complex sentence structures, such as using relative clauses or conditional sentences, and ensure basic grammatical accuracy in your writing.

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

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