Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

In this period of urbanization, population growth, and modernization, many people believe that the best way to provide enough homes in large cities is to build tall apartment blocks.

This approach allows a large number of people to live in a limited area of land.

In my opinion, I strongly agree with this notion and my opinion will be discussed in further paragraphs with a suitable conclusion.

Supporting my agreement with the given statement, I firmly believe that tall apartment buildings make efficient use of limited urban land.

To cite an example, major cities such as New York and Dubai accommodate thousands of residents through high-rise residential buildings.

Moreover, constructing apartment blocks helps reduce urban sprawl and preserves surrounding agricultural and green areas.

For instance, when more people live in vertical housing, cities do not need to expand excessively into nearby countryside regions.

Explaining another supporting point in favour of this statement, it is true that tall apartment blocks can provide modern facilities and affordable housing for a larger number of residents.

As a result, governments and developers can accommodate growing urban populations more effectively while reducing housing shortages.

In conclusion, building tall apartment blocks is an effective way to provide enough homes in large cities.

I believe that the aforementioned points strongly support my viewpoint.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student clearly presents a position ('I strongly agree with this notion') and supports it with relevant arguments, such as the efficient use of limited urban land, the reduction of urban sprawl, and the provision of modern facilities. Examples like New York and Dubai are appropriately used to back up these points. However, the response is under the required word count, containing only 216 words instead of the minimum 250 words. This restriction prevents the ideas from being fully developed to a higher band level, limiting the task achievement score. Overall, the prompt is addressed, but the length penalty must be applied.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a clear overall arrangement and logic, with each paragraph focusing on a specific supporting point. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'For instance', 'As a result', and 'In conclusion' are utilized to guide the reader through the text. Paragraphing is used sufficiently, with each main idea broken into its own short paragraph, reflecting clear organizational structure. However, the heavy reliance on single-sentence paragraphs makes the essay feel somewhat disjointed and formulaic rather than flowing naturally. Referencing is mostly clear, but paragraphing could be better managed to show a more sophisticated progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'urbanization', 'population growth', 'urban sprawl', and 'high-rise residential buildings'. There are attempts to use less common items like 'accommodate' and 'preserves surrounding agricultural and green areas'. Word choice and spelling are generally accurate throughout the short text. However, the vocabulary lacks the wider flexibility, precision, and sophistication characteristic of higher bands, remaining somewhat basic and repetitive in places such as the repeated use of 'supporting point' and 'tall apartment blocks'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'In this period of urbanization, population growth, and modernization, many people believe that...' and '...when more people live in vertical housing, cities do not need to expand excessively...'. Grammatical accuracy is generally good; most sentences are grammatically sound with correct punctuation and verb tenses. There are no glaring errors that impede communication. While complex structures are attempted and controlled reasonably well, the range remains somewhat limited due to the short overall length of the text.

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

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