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 affording the require number of homes in the big cities is through construction of apartment complexes in skyscrapers. 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 land because of variety of facilities like a garage and a swimming pool. Ownership of land gives one great confidence, and it also enables everyone to live in spacious homes. Societies where most of the houses were constructed on land make the town beautiful. This approach is more suitable for the countryside because of availability of enormous land.

On the other hand, a surge in the population volume has made it difficult for everyone to afford a home on land in populated area of a city. The construction of 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 the stress of the fast paced life.

In conclusion, while single homes on land offer more personal space and comfort, high rise complexes seem to be the realistic approach in the urban areas of a city.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response attempts to address the prompt by discussing the extent of agreement with building tall apartment blocks in large cities. However, the task achievement is negatively impacted by the length requirement, as the student's response contains only 233 words, failing the 250-word minimum threshold. While the writer presents a clear position and supports it with ideas regarding land availability, personal space, and community interaction, the development remains somewhat limited and repetitive. For example, the point about people preferring homes on land because of facilities like a garage is somewhat underdeveloped. Because the response falls short of the word count minimum and lacks deeper extension of ideas, it aligns best with a Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs featuring standard transition signals ('On the one hand', 'On the other hand'), and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate contrasting viewpoints. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or slightly faulty, such as the run-on structure in the third paragraph ('can enjoy more time together, this would help them...'), which creates a comma splice. Referencing is generally clear, and progression is maintained, but the overall logical flow would benefit from smoother transitional devices and better integration of clauses. These features place the response firmly at Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'surging population density', 'ownership', 'spacious homes', and 'fast paced life'. However, there are notable instances of unnatural word choice and collocation errors, such as 'affording the require number of homes' (instead of 'required number') and 'construction of apartment complexes in skyscrapers' (where 'skyscrapers' is imprecise for residential apartment blocks). Attempts to use less common vocabulary are sometimes inaccurate. Spelling and word choice errors do not severely impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like relative clauses ('Societies where most of the houses were constructed...') and conditional-like phrasing. There are, however, several grammatical errors throughout the text, including article omissions ('in the big cities' vs 'in big cities', 'in populated area') and tense/form slips ('affording the require number'). Punctuation errors also occur, notably a comma splice in the third paragraph. While these errors do not impede overall comprehension, they prevent the text from achieving a higher band. The control of grammar is consistent with a Band 6.0.

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

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