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)
In the ever-evolving world, development in the urban and rural areas are playing vital role for individuals. Similarly, providing enough homes for the society in large cities especially apartments is necessary. I partially agree with this statement which, I will mention in the following paragraphs.
To begin with, these days there are many urban area are under development. It means the higher authorities are try to fix the housing problem in the cities. That is why they are looking to build tall buildings instead of the houses. Which occupy less area and they easily provide the facilities to their citizens. Moreover, they also think about the controlling the housing crisis in the cities. Such as, there are many individuals who migrate from rural area and try to live in the city for a better life. Somehow they face difficulties in finding a perfect house. That is why the government decided to build a apartments in the city. For example, during the year 2020 in Surat city there was one survey conducted by the university students. They found the proportion of the migration level and total houses needed according to the city population.
On the other hand, there are some drawbacks of this idea which are the over crowd population and less area of land. It means, if higher authorities construct lots of building in the city, . It is not only covering more land area but also cause increasing the population of the city. Furthermore, for the development they are cutting down the trees and it directly affects to the climate. In addition, people are throwing waste on land and the surrounding areas of the apartment which also affect the environment and increase the chances of illness or disease.
To conclude, providing more facilities in the city as a house is beneficial but there are a few major problems are directly or indirectly affect the environment as well as health. Whereas, tall building are beneficial for citizens of the city.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student addresses all parts of the task and presents a clear position, stating that they partially agree with the statement. Ideas are generally relevant, but the development is somewhat limited. For example, while the writer mentions the housing crisis and rural-to-urban migration, the elaboration remains surface-level and the example involving the Surat city survey in 2020 is not fully integrated to support the argument. Furthermore, the counter-arguments regarding overpopulation and environmental impact are introduced but lack deep extension. Therefore, the response aligns best with Band 6, as it addresses the prompt adequately but leaves some ideas under-developed.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt at paragraphing, introducing an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, cohesion is frequently faulty and mechanical. The writer relies on basic cohesive phrases like 'To begin with', 'On the other hand', and 'To conclude', and referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the dangling relative clause 'Which occupy less area' or the fragmented sentence structure in the third paragraph. Paragraphing is attempted, but logical progression within paragraphs is disrupted by grammatical lapses and abrupt transitions. This corresponds to a Band 5.5 performance.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The lexical range is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate their general ideas about urban development and housing. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary items such as 'ever-evolving', 'proportion', and 'migration level', but these are accompanied by noticeable inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'over crowd population' instead of 'overcrowded population' or 'build a apartments'. Spelling and word formation errors occasionally distract the reader, though they do not completely impede communication. These characteristics place the lexical resource firmly at Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('development in the urban and rural areas are', 'higher authorities are try'), incorrect article usage ('build a apartments'), and incomplete sentences ('It means, if higher authorities construct lots of building in the city, .'). While the meaning is usually retrievable, the frequency of errors causes some difficulty for the reader and prevents the response from reaching a Band 6.0, fitting best at Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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