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)

It is argued that building tall apartment blocks is the best way to provide enough homes in large cities. I have a mixed view on this statement. On one hand it is true that tall apartments are the most cost-friendly option to build but on another hand it has too many risk factors.

Nobody can argue that building tall apartment blocks provides an excess amount of homes in a small area. In one tall apartment from 50 to 100 families can make it their homes and the construction of these types of apartments can cost more at first but it recovers its cost within a few years and these apartments help to manage the overall landscape of the town by providing excess land for other sectors rather than housing. In fact many of the developed cities manage their housing problems by building tall apartments like in Tokyo, London, New York City and so on and their tall apartment are also popular for some tourist from rural areas.

On the other hand tall apartment blocks have it own risk factors. In theory tall apartment blocks will have less problems but in real life many builders neglect the safety regulation of these apartments many do not even have emergency exit and fire exitinguser in the apartment. For instance, many of the apartment blocks in countries like India where rules and regulation are not strong tall apartment do not even have a minimal safety regulation.

In conclusion, considering both views it is clear that building tall apartment blocks is a good option for cities with strong rules and regulations; however I strongly believe that it is very risky for cities with not strong regulations.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You address all parts of the task by presenting a clear position on whether tall apartment blocks are the best solution for housing shortages in large cities. You acknowledge both sides of the argument, noting that they are cost-effective and save land, while raising valid counterarguments regarding safety regulations. However, your ideas tend to be slightly under-developed and rely on general statements rather than deep elaboration. For instance, mentioning examples like Tokyo and London is good, but you do not explain how or why they successfully manage their housing this way. Similarly, the safety discussion focuses heavily on India without broadening the perspective. To achieve a higher band, you should extend your supporting arguments with more detailed explanations and specific examples.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

Your essay has a clear overall progression and logical arrangement, starting with an introduction, exploring both advantages and disadvantages in separate body paragraphs, and concluding with a summary of your views. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'On one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' to signal shifts in your argument. However, paragraphing and referencing can occasionally feel slightly mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For example, the transition into the discussion about safety in the second body paragraph is a bit abrupt. Furthermore, punctuation errors, such as missing commas after introductory phrases, slightly detract from the overall cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'cost-friendly', 'landscape', 'sector', and 'safety regulation'. However, your vocabulary choice is sometimes repetitive or slightly unnatural, such as 'excess amount of homes' instead of 'a large volume of housing', or 'fire exitinguser' which appears to be a vocabulary slip or typographical error. You also make minor word-choice and collocation errors, such as saying tall apartment blocks have 'it own risk factors' and mentioning that rules and regulations are 'not strong' instead of 'inadequate' or 'lax'. To reach a higher band, you need to incorporate more sophisticated, less common lexical items with greater precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, successfully using relative clauses and conditional structures. However, your writing contains several grammatical errors and punctuation oversights. For instance, you miss essential commas ('On one hand it is true', 'however I strongly believe'), make agreement errors ('tall apartment do not even have'), and misspell or misuse terms ('fire exitinguser'). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent you from securing a higher band. To improve, focus on proofreading your work to eliminate basic punctuation omissions and ensure subject-verb agreement across all complex sentences.

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

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