Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-17

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)

It is often claimed that constructing high residential building is the most effective solution in urban areas. However, I disagree with this statement because these tall apartments are not the best way to provide accommodation. Firstly, these are very inconvenient for older people; secondly, people cannot afford these apartments easily.

To begin with, these are not suitable for elderly people because all tall apartments do not have all necessary facilities available. Furthermore, people need to cover a lot of stairs to reach their own appartment. Lifts are also available, however, multiple people are living in one tall building and it is difficult to use them. For example, there are multiple tall buildings available for apartments but due to power shortage and lack of maintenance, lifts remain stuck. People use stairs to go to the upper floors.

Moreover, these tall buildings are very expensive for ordinary people. Multiple tuck shops and accessories shops are available in them but their rates are double as compared to normal shops. For instance, in cities like Mumbai or Hong Kong, the cost per square foot in such apartments is often too high for average buyers. Middle class people even cannot afford to visit it. Normal people only need basic facilities for their survival rather than these extra modern things. Electricity and gas costs are also very high in these apartments.

To conclude, although tall apartment blocks have multiple benefits in big cities, I believe that these are only suitable for upper class people. Elderly people do not prefer it because of shortage of facilities. In addition to this, inflation is high these days therefore it is difficult to survive there for normal people.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position against building tall apartment blocks, supporting this with two main arguments: inconvenience for older people and high costs. The position is maintained throughout the essay. However, the development of ideas tends to be somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the points about lifts not working and high utility bills are slightly underdeveloped, relying on general assertions rather than deep elaboration. Nevertheless, all parts of the prompt are addressed with relevant, albeit basic, ideas, which aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors. The arguments presented are coherent with the overall stance, though a broader perspective on urban housing needs would have strengthened the discussion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct arguments, such as elderly accessibility in the second paragraph and financial costs in the third. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as "Firstly", "To begin with", "Furthermore", and "Moreover". However, referencing and cohesion can sometimes feel mechanical or repetitive, as seen with phrases like "these tall apartments" and "multiple tall buildings". Paragraph transitions are functional, but the logical progression within paragraphs occasionally stumbles due to repetitive sentence structures. Overall, the organizational structure satisfies the requirements for a Band 6 score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as "power shortage", "maintenance", and "average buyers". However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as "cover a lot of stairs" instead of "climb a lot of stairs", "appartment" (spelling error), and "visit it" referring to expensive apartments. Vocabulary tends to be repetitive, with frequent reuse of words like "tall", "apartments", and "normal people". While communication is not impeded and the lexical range is sufficient to convey the main ideas, the presence of errors and restricted flexibility keep this criterion at a Band 5.5 to 6.0 level. A score of 6.0 is awarded as the vocabulary is minimally adequate to communicate the arguments.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures such as conditional and concessive clauses (e.g., "To conclude, although tall apartment blocks have multiple benefits in big cities, I believe..."). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, including "constructing high residential building" (singular/plural mismatch), "all tall apartments do not have" (scope of negation), and "Middle class people even cannot afford to visit it". Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors occur, they rarely impede overall communication. The command over grammar reflects a typical Band 6 performance, balancing a decent attempt at complex structures with frequent minor inaccuracies.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.