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)

Many people believe that by building tall appartment blocks will be the best way to provide homes in large cities. I vehemently agree with notion that tall building appartments are very important in large cities.

One major advantage of tall apartment buildings is that they make efficient use of limited urban land. In densely populated cities, land is often expensive and difficult to obtain. Building upwards allows developers to provide hundreds of homes without occupying large areas of land. For example, a single high-rise building can accommodate far more families than a group of low-rise houses built on the same plot. This can help cities deal with population growth while protecting land that could otherwise be used for parks or other public facilities.

Another benefit is that high-rise developments can make public services and transportation more efficient. When many residents live in the same area, governments can provide infrastructure such as public transport, water and electricity more efficiently. In addition, people living in apartment blocks may have easier access to workplaces, schools and shopping centres, particularly when high-rise housing is constructed close to existing urban facilities.

the inexorable discussion on this subject matter can keep on going but observing the finer nuance and keeping a deep reverence/veneration to the facts, I would like to espouse my notion building tall appartment blocks plays vital role in today's world.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear stance on whether tall apartment blocks are the best solution for urban housing, presenting relevant arguments about land efficiency and infrastructure. However, there is a penalty for length because the student's text contains only 227 words, falling short of the required 250-word minimum. Due to this under-length penalty and some minor under-development in the conclusion, the response aligns best with a Band 5.5. The main ideas are present, such as efficient land use and public services, but the overall task fulfilment is constrained by the word count limit.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a generally coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing separating the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Each body paragraph focuses on a distinct main idea, such as efficient land use and transportation benefits. However, referencing and transitions are at times slightly mechanical or abrupt, particularly seen in the awkward lowercase starting letter and overly ornate phrasing of the final paragraph ('the inexorable discussion on this subject matter...'). Despite these flaws, the logical progression is maintained throughout, fitting the Band 6 descriptor well.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'densely populated', 'high-rise', and 'infrastructure'. However, there are noticeable spelling errors such as 'appartment' (used multiple times) and awkward collocations/overuse of stylistic reach in the conclusion, such as 'deep reverence/veneration to the facts' and 'espouse my notion building'. These lexical choices show an attempt at less common vocabulary with some inaccuracy, which places the response firmly at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and relative clauses ('when high-rise housing is constructed close to existing urban facilities'). However, there are noticeable grammatical errors, most notably in the opening sentence: 'Many people believe that by building tall appartment blocks will be the best way...', which contains an unnecessary preposition 'by' that breaks the subject-verb structure. Other minor issues include punctuation and capitalization inconsistencies. Because these errors do not severely impede overall communication, the grammar fits the Band 6.0 criteria.

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

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