Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-15

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-storey 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 lead to requiring a sufficient amount to establish to these projects. For instance, tall buildings enhance the residential issue such as in a single-storey house all expenses are the responsibility of a single person. In addition, it is a more difficult situation to manage all the things. Furthermore, in a single-storey house, individuals and elders suffer from 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 peaceful 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 position in favour of tall apartment blocks. However, the development of ideas is limited and at times confusing. For instance, the second paragraph attempts to discuss financial efficiency and social isolation in single-storey houses, but the reasoning is disjointed and difficult to follow. The third paragraph confusingly introduces disadvantages of tall buildings, such as natural accidents and elderly accessibility issues, but then pivots back to praising single apartments without clearly resolving the core argument. Furthermore, the length requirement of 250 words is not met, as the essay contains 237 words. Consequently, these shortcomings restrict the score for this criterion to Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into paragraphs, showing a basic attempt at structural organisation with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, overall progression is lacking. Cohesive devices are used mechanically and sometimes inappropriately, such as using 'Furthermore' to introduce a completely contradictory point regarding the risks of tall buildings in the third paragraph. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and logical links between sentences are frequently strained, making the flow bumpy. Paragraphing is attempted, but internal paragraph cohesion needs significant improvement. This performance aligns closely with Band 5.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for basic communication but lacks precision and range. The student repeats common phrases such as 'tall apartment blocks', 'single-storey house', and 'urban cities'. There are noticeable word choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'natural accidents' instead of 'natural disasters' or 'accidents', and 'enhance the residential issue' which makes little sense in context. While attempts are made to use some less common vocabulary like 'environmental degradation', inaccuracy in usage restricts the lexical score to Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but attempts at complex structures frequently result in faulty grammar. Examples include 'which lead to requiring a sufficient amount to establish to these projects' and 'a single apartments provide'. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('elder people want') and prepositional errors. Although meaning is usually retrievable despite the errors, the high frequency of grammatical slips prevents the response from achieving a higher band, making Band 5.0 the most appropriate descriptor match.

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

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