Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-13

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 today's world, the population is increasing day by day and to accomodate the people in large cities, i believe it would be a great step to built tall buildings with multiple rooms and extra spacious block.

The world is now densely populated, there are so many people everywhere around the world who do not have proper accomodations. On the other hand people prefer big cities to live and for that reason the large cities have become overcrowded with no proper space to live in. Most of the famous universities, hospitals and shopping malls are situated in big cities which has increased the demand of people to make it a choice for living in. It is now necessary to construct tall buidlings around the city so that many people can accomodate at once. Another reason can be a increased demand of rents and bill in the large cities do not allow people to get the apartments which causes people to be homeless. IF large buildings are made in the big cities with acceptable rates, so it would be enough for people to live.

In contrast, building tall apartments only may not be enough for people in big cities because i think it is not just about the homes, if you are living in a big city, the demand of everything increases so for this reason you have to earn quite well to compete with the living expenses and enviroment. Living alone in tall buildings is not enough for spending a good life.

In conclusion, in my opinion it is better that people living in big cities have to earn quite well, so that they can afford the living expenses of the city.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by taking a clear position on whether tall apartment blocks are the best way to provide housing in large cities. The writer introduces relevant ideas regarding population growth, the demand for urban living near amenities, and economic challenges like rent and living expenses. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the discussion on living expenses in the third paragraph slightly drifts away from the core housing debate into general urban life. The position is maintained throughout, but some points lack deeper extension and support, placing this response securely at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used to separate main ideas, such as the necessity of tall buildings versus the counter-arguments regarding living costs. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. The use of transitional markers like 'On the other hand', 'Another reason can be', and 'In contrast' is somewhat simplistic. Furthermore, referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases like 'to make it a choice for living in' where the pronoun antecedent is imprecise. Overall progression is visible, but the flow is disrupted by clunky transitions, aligning with Band 5.5 to 6.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'densely populated', 'overcrowded', and 'living expenses'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, such as 'accomodate' (accommodate), 'built' (build), 'buidlings' (buildings), and 'an increased demand' (an increasing demand). These errors reflect a lack of precision, though they rarely impede communication entirely. The vocabulary control is sufficient to convey basic arguments, but persistent lexical inaccuracies prevent the score from reaching a higher band, making Band 5.5 an appropriate evaluation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing conditional structures like 'IF large buildings are made... so it would be enough'. However, grammatical accuracy is weak. There are frequent errors in verb forms, prepositions, and capitalization, such as 'i believe' (I believe), 'to built' (to build), 'a increased demand' (an increased demand), and awkward punctuation with capitalization ('IF large buildings...'). Complex sentences are often faulty, and run-on sentences appear, such as the lengthy second sentence of the second paragraph. Despite these persistent errors, communication is generally maintained, supporting a Band 5.0 score.

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

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