Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-16
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)
A great way to manage the ever-increasing urbanization in larger cities is by building high-rise apartments. I strongly agree with this statement as this allows for more house while occyping less land area. Furthermore, sharing a space results in less cost as compared to stand-alone houses.
With vertical buildings, the number of people that can be accommodated are much higher than that of individual houses. This is because there are many floors within a tall apartment, each floor having multiple homes. This means while there can be many families accommodated within the said building, in an individual house, only a certain family can be entertained. Therefore building high-rise building is an effecient use of a city space. For example, China is one of the most populated country in the world. Therefore, they have built apartments to accommodate their ever-growing population.
Furthermore, the cost of an apartment is significantly less than that of a personal house due to the shared space. This is because while a house owner is a sole user of all the ameneties like water or home maintainance, a person in an apartment is sharing these resources with other people in the same building. This helps people live a decent lifestyle despite their financial statuses. For example: the apartment I live in provides its residents with all the resources like a lift, occasional maintainance without us having to worry about it.
In conclusion, building high-rise residence is a great way to manage the urbanization in big cities. I overwhelmingly agree with this because not only the tall apartment blocks help use a city's space effeciently but it is also considerably cost-effective.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student addresses all parts of the task by taking a clear, strongly agreed position on whether tall apartment blocks are the best solution for urban housing. Ideas are extended and supported with reasons related to land efficiency and cost-effectiveness. For instance, the writer explains that vertical buildings accommodate more people because 'there are many floors within a tall apartment, each floor having multiple homes.' However, some supporting ideas remain slightly general, such as the example about China, which could have been expanded further to fully develop the argument. The response maintains a relevant position throughout, meeting the requirements of a Band 6.5 or solid Band 7, but minor under-development in supporting details keeps it firmly within the Band 6 range.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression. The writer introduces the topic and position in the introduction, dedicates body paragraphs to specific arguments (space efficiency and cost), and provides a concluding summary. Cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore,' 'This is because,' and 'Therefore' are utilized to connect ideas, though some transitional phrases feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'This is because' in consecutive paragraphs. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately to separate distinct points. Referencing is generally clear, though minor slips in cohesion prevent the text from reaching a higher band level.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'urbanization,' 'cost-effective,' and 'accommodate.' However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors that detract from precision, including 'occyping' instead of 'occupying,' 'effecient' instead of 'efficient,' 'maintainance' instead of 'maintenance,' and the misuse of 'ameneties' and 'statuses.' While these errors do not impede overall communication, they reflect limitations in lexical control and spelling consistency that cap the score at Band 6.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing dependent clauses and conditional structures such as 'This means while there can be many families accommodated...' and '...without us having to worry about it.' However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward agreements throughout the text. Examples include 'the number of people that can be accommodated are much higher' (where the verb should be 'is' to agree with 'number') and 'only a certain family can be entertained' (unnatural collocation). Punctuation is mostly functional, but errors in subject-verb agreement and minor phrasing issues prevent the response from achieving a higher band score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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