Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-12

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)

For individuals, few things are more crucial than home for living. In many developed and developing countries, a substantial amount of money is allocated to building apartment, as it necessitates the use of various resources. Nowadays, many would agree that contemporary society has nearly transcended its traditional boundaries and will become boundless in its pursuit of making living space for citizens. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that governments should build tall apartment blocks to provide enough homes for urban people.

Naturally, building tall apartment in the form of giving shield is considered essential for people's lives, creating invaluable facilities for living standards that are not available from other sources. Moreover, it demonstrates unparalleled benefits for people's lives, permeating and enhancing every conceivable sector of cities life. Since people seek development and fulfillment through homes, ample investment in building tall apartment is imperative to elevate modern living standards. If this is adopted by governments and individuals alike, many people stand to benefit significantly. Building tall apartment in nations, such as Singapore, and Japan, for instance, has emerged as a pivotal model for development, delivering enhanced facilities for their people.

Under certain circumstances, governments may shy away from making tall apartment due to a range of challenges, such as financial constraints, environmental conditions, and proper planning. While making apartment in cities is widely embraced in many major cities worldwide, governments in developing nations frequently contend with profound financial limitations when striving to implement this decision. Therefore, the notion of making tall apartment for individuals is not always appealing. From economic, social, and national perspectives, if the goals of governments dictate that building tall apartment is not merely an option but an imperative, they may choose to embrace it.

However, it is the responsibility of governments of evaluate the role of building tall apartment and determine whether it will cause more good than harm. Thus, it is evident that fostering an interest in building tall apartment is beneficial.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favour of building tall apartment blocks to solve housing shortages in large cities. The writer attempts to support this viewpoint with reasons, such as maximizing living space and referencing examples like Singapore and Japan. However, the development of ideas suffers from noticeable vagueness and repetitiveness. Phrases like 'creating invaluable facilities' and 'permeating and enhancing every conceivable sector of cities life' are overly broad and lack concrete, well-developed supporting arguments. While all parts of the task are addressed, the ideas remain somewhat superficial and lack the depth expected for higher bands, placing this submission firmly at a Band 6.0 level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a concluding statement. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, such as the benefits of tall buildings versus the potential economic challenges faced by developing nations. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. The transition words and referencing devices (e.g., 'Naturally', 'Moreover', 'Therefore') are occasionally used in ways that obscure the precise logical flow between sentences. For instance, the link between giving a 'shield' and creating invaluable facilities is abrupt. Consequently, the organization shows clear logical progression overall, but the management of cohesive devices aligns best with a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting some less common collocations and lexical items such as 'financial constraints', 'pivotal model', and 'profound financial limitations'. However, there are notable lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices throughout the text. For example, using 'building apartment' in the singular plural form repeatedly instead of 'building apartments' or 'apartment blocks' detracts from precision. Additionally, expressions like 'giving shield' and 'cities life' instead of 'city life' reveal strain in word formation and collocation. These inaccuracies occasionally cause hesitation for the reader, fitting the Band 5.5 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing conditional structures ('If this is adopted...') and relative clauses. There is an acceptable variety of grammatical structures attempted, but they are accompanied by frequent errors. Grammatical inaccuracies include missing pluralizations ('governments of evaluate' instead of 'governments to evaluate'), incorrect prepositions, and awkward phrasing that impacts structural clarity. While communication is not severely impeded and the meaning remains generally understandable, the frequency of errors prevents the text from reaching a Band 6.0, as error-free sentences are not sufficiently frequent. Therefore, a Band 5.5 is awarded.

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

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