Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
Some people thinks that if you want to provide enough homes in large cities, you have to build tall appartments. Although, it can provide a solution to over population in big cities but i totally disagree with this statement. The reason is that, if you built so many homes in a single appartment, then those houses will be very congested. People will face difficulty to reach upper portions if there is no lift, especially old age peole. The 2nd reason is that, these type of buildings are very vulnerable to disasters like earthquake.
Building tall appartments to adjust enough homes can be a solution to increasing population, but when you build so much houses in a single appartment, the homes in appartment becomes so congested. This type of appartments becomes over crowded and you will lose your peace day by day. People can also find it very difficult to reach their upper portions and if there is no lift available, then it becomes almost impossible for elder people to walk out of their building. The prime example is Okocha building in china where hundreds of homes are bulit in a single appartment and their people face same issues every day. These buildings are also vulnerable to different disasters.
When you build such type of appartment, then they can be easily affected by natural disasters like earthquake and the reason is that, their foundations are very weak and can be easily destroyed by natural disasters. For example, in our city, there was a 15 portion appartment. In last summer, it falls to the ground due to earthquake of 6.2 magnitude.
If we conclude this, I think tall appartment is not a solution of over population in large cities because it can lead to some devastated consequences.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by expressing a clear disagreement with the statement that tall apartment blocks are the best way to provide housing. The writer attempts to support this position with reasons such as congestion, lack of lifts for elderly residents, and vulnerability to natural disasters. However, the ideas are somewhat repetitive, particularly concerning congestion and earthquakes, and are under-developed rather than fully extended. The example of the 'Ococha building in china' is vague and unsupported by verifiable specifics, while the personal anecdote about a '15 portion appartment' lacks sufficient analytical depth. Overall, the response meets the basic requirements of the task by presenting a clear stance and supporting arguments, earning a Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay displays some organizational structure with distinct paragraphs, though the overall progression is somewhat hindered by repetitive phrasing and overlapping arguments. Cohesive devices are frequently basic, repetitive, or inaccurate, such as 'The reason is that', 'The 2nd reason is that', and 'When you build such type of appartment'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the second and third body paragraphs repeat similar ideas about congestion and disasters rather than building a progressive argument. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in pronoun usage ('When you build such type of appartment, then they can be easily affected...'). Overall, the structural flow is basic and repetitive, fitting the descriptors for Band 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is limited and repetitive throughout the essay, demonstrating a basic range. Words like 'appartment', 'homes', 'building', and 'disasters' are repeated frequently without synonyms or varied lexical choices. There are numerous spelling errors ('appartments', 'over population', 'peole', 'bulit', 'devastated') and word-choice inaccuracies (e.g., '15 portion appartment' instead of storeys/floors, 'devastated consequences' instead of devastating consequences). The lexical resource is minimally adequate to convey the basic message, but frequent errors and lack of control over less common vocabulary place this at a Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms (e.g., conditional and concessive clauses like 'Although, it can provide a solution... but i totally disagree'). However, these attempts at complex structures are frequently faulty and accompanied by basic grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('Some people thinks', 'the homes in appartment becomes'), punctuation errors, and improper capitalization ('i'). The frequency of grammatical errors causes some difficulty for the reader, aligning closely with the Band 5.0 descriptors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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