Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-14

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 5.0)

It is often argued that the best method to provide a large quantity of housing in urban areas is to build tall apartment blocks rather than single-story houses. From my perspective, I strongly believe that in the modern era to control the rapidly growing population in urban cities it is essential to construct tall apartment blocks.

First and foremost, the government should construct tall apartment blocks which leads to require a sufficient amount to establish to to these projects. For instance, tall buildings enhance the residential issue such as in a single- story house all expenses are the responsibility of a single man. In addition it is a more difficult situation to manage all the things. Furthermore, in a single-story house, individuals and elders suffer a loneliness and depression due to no gathering.

Furthermore, tall buildings could be a risk of disasters like natural accidents and noise pollution. Too much noise pollution creates a disturbance for elder people. Because they want a peaceful environment in old age. By contrast, a single apartments provide a peacefui environment for elder people. It is beneficial for their mental health. For instance, elderly people cannot use the stairs because their physical health condition does not allow them.

In conclusion, some people argue this issue. In my opinion, I contend that the government and authorities should plan to construct tall apartment blocks in urban cities. In this way, they can control the environmental degradation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear stance in favour of tall apartment blocks. However, the ideas are underdeveloped and at times confusing or contradictory. For example, the second body paragraph begins by discussing disadvantages of tall buildings like natural disasters and noise pollution, which contradicts the student's stated position in the introduction. Furthermore, the length requirement has not been met: the text contains 239 words, falling short of the 250-word minimum, which impacts the overall task achievement score. While the writer attempts to present reasons, the arguments lack clarity and sufficient support.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into paragraphs, and the writer attempts to use cohesive devices such as 'First and foremost', 'In addition', and 'Furthermore'. However, the logical progression is weak. The second body paragraph starts by listing disadvantages of tall blocks ('tall buildings could be a risk of disasters... and noise pollution') rather than supporting the writer's agreement with the prompt. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen with ambiguous phrasing like 'which leads to require a sufficient amount to establish to to these projects'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal organisation of ideas within paragraphs needs significant improvement.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive, with frequent reliance on phrases like 'tall apartment blocks' and 'single-story house'. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations that impede the flow of reading, such as 'enhance the residential issue' and 'suffer a loneliness and depression'. While the student attempts some less common terms like 'environmental degradation', inaccurate word choice and repetition limit the lexical range to a band 5 level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as missing words, incorrect prepositions, and faulty verb patterns (e.g., 'leads to require a sufficient amount to establish to to these projects'). Punctuation errors are also present, and some sentences are difficult to parse due to structural flaws. These errors frequently cause difficulty for the reader, placing the grammar at a band 5 level.

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

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