Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

I strongly agree that constructing heighted buildings is by far one of the most efficient solutions to rising accommodation problems for city population. If its safety concerns are dealt appropriately, its upside is huge like cost-effectiveness and reduced slums.

Due to rising urbanisation, large number of students and working professionals are migrating to the urban areas from urban regions. As the people living in these cities increase with the amount of land remaining the same, it creates more pressure on land. Thus, building tall skyscrapers and apartments is a very effective solution to this problem as more amount of people can live on same amount of land. A piece of land, for instance, previously handling 5000 people can accomodate ten times more occupants if building are made there. Additionally, rising inhabitants in a region also gives rise to the creation of slum areas there, which can be reduced if buildings are built and given to the public at subsized rates, thus improving the beauty of a city. For example, the largest slums of Asia, Dharvi, are now redesigned with an agenda of building apartments which will be sold to its residents there at discounted rates.

Alternatively, as most of the large and advanced cities all over the world are built near the sea coast, there is also an inherent threat to these flats due to the quality of land. To elaborate, as the soil near the seacoast is very porus and soft, natural calamities like earthquake can lead to its collapse. To solve this, the soil underneath these structures can be replaced with strong wet soil, giving a strong support to the building.

To conclude, I firmly believe that if the problems like weak building foundations are solved, development of skyscrapers and apartments is a very useful way to accommodate more and more population over time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The student addresses all parts of the prompt, taking a clear and well-supported position that tall apartment blocks are the best solution for urban housing shortages. The response presents relevant main ideas, such as maximizing land efficiency and reducing slum areas, supported by an appropriate example regarding the Dharavi slums. The counterargument regarding coastal soil conditions is also acknowledged and addressed. However, the development of some ideas tends toward slight over-generalisation, and the explanation could be deeper in places. Overall, the task is successfully fulfilled, aligning well with the expectations of Band 7 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, moving smoothly from introduction to housing benefits, potential geographical drawbacks, and a succinct conclusion. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'Additionally,' 'Alternatively,' and 'To elaborate.' However, referencing and transitions are at times slightly mechanical, which prevents the essay from reaching the higher band. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct thematic blocks of the argument. Overall, the structural flow is sound and supports clear communication.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision, employing terms like 'urbanisation,' 'accommodation,' 'cost-effectiveness,' and 'natural calamities.' There are occasional inappropriate word choices and slight inaccuracies, such as 'heighted buildings' instead of 'high-rise buildings,' 'more amount of people' instead of 'a greater number of people,' and spelling slips like 'accomodate,' 'subsized,' and 'porus.' Despite these minor lexical lapses, the vocabulary is adequate to convey the intended meaning clearly without impeding the reader's understanding.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over conditional structures and relative clauses (e.g., 'If its safety concerns are dealt appropriately, its upside is huge...'). There are, however, several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings present, such as 'dealt appropriately' missing the preposition 'with,' 'if building are made' featuring a subject-verb agreement error, and 'rising inhabitants' being slightly unnatural. While punctuation and sentence boundaries are generally well-managed, the recurring minor structural slips place the grammar firmly in the Band 6 category.

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