Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

IT IS OFTEN ARGUED THAT THE BETTER OPTION TO FULFILL HOUSES REQUIREMENT IN THE BIG CITIES IS TO BUILT BIG BUILDING APARTMENTS. I AM PARTLY AGREE WITH THE VIEW, BECAUSE HIGH-RISE BUILDING CAN ACCOMODATE MANY PEOPLE IN A LIMITED AREA, BUT IT CAN CREATE SEVERAL PROBLEMS .

ON THE ONE HAND, ONE MAJOR ADVANTAGE OF BUILDING TALL BUILDING BLOCKS IS THAT THEY CAN MAKE EFFICIENT USE OF LIMITED LAND. IN LARGE CITIES, LAND IS OFTEN EXPENSIVE AND DIFFICULT TO FIND. INSTEAD OF CONSTRUCTING MANY HOUSES ACROSS LARGE AREA, IT WILL BE HELPFUL TO PROVIDE HOMES FOR THOUSANDS OF RESIDENTS ON A RELATIVELY SMALL AMOUNT OF LAND. THIS CAN HELP REDUCE URBAN SPRAWL AND PROTECT AREA OF FARMLAND AND NATURAL SURRONDINGS. FOR EXAMPLE, CITIES I SINGAPORE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY USED HIG-RISE BUILDINGS TO SETTLE LARGE POPULATION DESPITE HAVING LIMITED LAND.

ON THE OTHER HAND, RELYING ENTIRELY ON TALL BUILDINGS CAN CREATE CONSIDERABLE PRESSURE ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT, SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS AND WATER SUPPLIES. IN ADDITION, SOME MAY FIND LIVING IN AN APARTMENT LESS COMFORTABLE THAN LIVING IN HOUSES WITH GARDEN AND PRIVE OUTDOOR SPACE. FOR INSTANCE, LIVING IN TALL BUILDING CAN BE EXPENSIVE BECAUSE IT REQUIRES LIFTS, SECURITY SYSTEMS AND OTHER FACILITIES TOO WHICH MAY BE NON AFFORTABLE FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES.

IN CONCLUSION, ALTHOUGH TALL APARTMENT BUILDINGS ARE EFFICIENT WAY TO PROVIDE HOUSING TO MASS POPULATION IN A LARGER CITIES, I BELIEVE IT WILL CAUSE STRESS ON FACILITIES AVAILABLE IN THE URBAN AREA SUCH AS TRANSPORTATION, SCHOOL AND MEDICAL CENTRES. AS WELL AS IT WOULD BE EXPENSIVE FOR POOR FAMILIES TO AFFORT LIVING THERE.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by taking a clear 'partly agree' position and discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of tall apartment blocks. The main ideas, such as efficient land use, reduced urban sprawl, and the strain on public infrastructure, are relevant and supported with an example, such as Singapore. However, the development of ideas remains somewhat general and brief, particularly in the conclusion where points are reiterated rather than fully extended. This places the response comfortably at Band 6.5, as it covers the prompt adequately with clear positioning, yet lacks the deeper elaboration and extension of ideas required for higher bands.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from introduction to body paragraphs and conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with distinct 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand' signposts guiding the reader through opposing viewpoints. Cohesive devices such as 'IN ADDITION', 'FOR INSTANCE', and 'IN CONCLUSION' are utilized, though some referencing and transitional links feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, such as starting multiple sentences with 'IN...'. Paragraphing and overarching organization prevent the score from dropping lower, successfully achieving a Band 6.0 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'URBAN SPRAWL', 'POPULATION DENSITY', and 'INFRASTRUCTURE' equivalents. However, there are notable word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors throughout the text, including 'HOUSES REQUIREMENT' instead of 'housing requirements', 'BUILT' instead of 'build', 'SURRONDINGS' (surroundings), 'HIG-RISE' (high-rise), 'PRIVE' (private), 'NON AFFORTABLE' (unaffordable), and 'AFFORT' (afford). These lexical inaccuracies and non-standard word formations are frequent enough to impede smooth reading at times, capping the lexical score at a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating conditional and dependent clauses like 'ALTHOUGH TALL APARTMENT BUILDINGS ARE EFFICIENT WAY TO PROVIDE HOUSING...'. However, grammatical accuracy is noticeably weak. There are frequent errors in article usage ('HOUSES REQUIREMENT', 'A LARGER CITIES'), subject-verb agreement ('I AM PARTLY AGREE'), prepositions, and word forms ('IT WILL BE HELPFUL TO PROVIDE', 'CITIES I SINGAPORE'). While these errors do not completely obscure the overall meaning, their frequency across simple and complex structures prevents the essay from reaching a higher band, making Band 5.0 an accurate assessment.

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