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)
The ultimate approach to afford require number of homes in the big cities is through construction of apartment complexes in a skyscraper. I agree with this statement because surging population density leaves insufficient land for everyone to construct his home on land.
On the one hand, people prefer to make their homes on the land because of various number of facilities like a garage and a swimming pool. Ownership of land gives one great confidence, and it also enables everyone to live in a spacious homes. Societies where most of the houses were constructed on land make the town beautiful. This approach is more suitable for the country sides because of availability of the enormous land.
On the other hand, surge in the population volume has made it difficult for everyone to afford home on the land in the populated area of a city. The construction of the apartment towers is the best way to provide enough homes for everyone. People can enjoy many facilities in the neighbourhood while living in the busy area without having to travel too far. People can interact more easily while living in a single building and can enjoy more time together, this would help them to reduce stress of the fast paced life.
In conclusion, while single homes on land offer more personal space and comfort, high rising complexes are seem to be the realistic approach in the urban areas of a city.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by discussing the extent of agreement with building tall apartment blocks to solve housing shortages in large cities. You present a clear position that high-rise complexes are necessary due to population density, and you support this with relevant ideas in body paragraphs. However, your response has a notable limitation: it contains 239 words, which fails to meet the minimum requirement of 250 words. This under-length issue restricts the full development of your ideas and leads to a penalty under Task Achievement. To achieve a higher band, ensure you fully develop your supporting arguments with richer examples and maintain the required word count. Band: 5.5
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
Your essay displays a clear overall structure with an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting opposing views, and a conclusion. You make use of standard cohesive markers such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' to signal the logical progression of your arguments. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate contrasting perspectives. However, referencing is sometimes imprecise, as seen in phrases like 'this would help them', where the exact antecedent is slightly blurred. Overall organisation is adequate and provides a coherent reading experience, fitting the criteria for Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your main ideas about urban housing. You attempt some less common lexical items, such as 'surging population density', 'fast paced life', and 'urban areas'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text. For example, 'afford require number of homes' contains grammatical and lexical awkwardness, 'skyscraper' is used incorrectly as a plural mass noun ('apartment complexes in a skyscraper'), and 'enormous land' should be 'enormous amounts of land' or 'vast tracts of land'. These errors occasionally restrict clarity, placing your lexical score at Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and conditional-style reasoning. There are, however, frequent grammatical errors that affect the accuracy of your writing. Examples include missing articles and incorrect pluralisation ('afford require number', 'spacious homes', 'country sides'), preposition errors ('on the land' instead of 'on the ground'), and tense or agreement issues like 'high rising complexes are seem to be'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur regularly enough to prevent the essay from reaching Band 6.0. Band: 5.0
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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