Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-18

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)

As population rises the need of houses is increasing day by day but the number of land area is fixed. I strongly believed that the tall apartments blocks should be build in large cities to provide homes to people.

By building taller apartment blocks it helps to build more number of houses in same area of land. For example, if a small house was build in fixed size land then only one family can live in that single house while if instead of building one house the tall apartment is build then the number of houses can be increase in same size of land. In every floor there was a home and more number of families can live in single block. As in large sities there was always shortage of land as population on cities is increasing by having tall apartment it reduce land area of many families in one block.

Other reason is there was no limit to build taller building where land is fixed. It is also difficult to give every person or family a new area of land. the apartments also helps people as there are many services which were available to them such as water, electricity and gas pipes. As it become more convinent to provide such services and it also reduce cost as in same area with single pipe or cable servoce can provide to every family in apartments where it can increase cost if it was given to non building houses.

Building tall apartments helps economically and can save land in big cities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by taking a clear position that tall apartment blocks are the best solution for providing homes in large cities. The main ideas, such as maximizing land usage and reducing utility costs, are presented and supported with basic examples, like comparing a small house to an apartment block. However, the development remains somewhat limited and repetitive, with over-generalized arguments. For instance, the discussion on municipal services touches on water, electricity, and gas pipes, but these ideas are underdeveloped and lack depth. While the writer's position is clear throughout, the explanations would benefit from more sophisticated extension to reach a higher band. Overall, the response fulfills the basic requirements of Task Achievement, aligning best with a Band 5.5 to 6.0 descriptor range, so a score of 6.0 is awarded.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognizable introduction, body paragraphs, and a brief conclusion. Ideas are organized logically around the central thesis, beginning with land efficiency and moving on to utility provision. However, referencing and cohesion are frequently faulty or mechanical. For example, the transitional phrases are weak or absent, and sentences within paragraphs sometimes lack smooth linking, such as 'Other reason is there was no limit...' and 'the apartments also helps people as there are many services...'. Paragraphing is attempted, but paragraph boundaries and internal transitions feel awkward. While the progression is generally understandable, the clumsy mechanical transitions prevent it from achieving a higher band. These characteristics fit the Band 5.5 to 6.0 profile, and a score of 6.0 is therefore appropriate.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully communicating everyday concepts related to housing and urbanization. Words such as 'population', 'apartment', 'electricity', and 'economically' are deployed correctly. However, there are numerous word choice and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'sities' instead of 'cities', 'convinent' instead of 'convenient', and 'servoce' instead of 'service'. The writer attempts less common vocabulary, like 'substational' or sophisticated collocations, but these attempts are rare and often clumsy, such as 'number of land area' or 'non building houses'. The lexical errors do not completely impede communication, but they cause noticeable difficulty for the reader at times. This performance sits comfortably within the Band 5.5 to 6.0 descriptors, warranting a score of 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though attempts at complex structures are frequently faulty. For example, the sentence 'As in large sities there was always shortage of land as population on cities is increasing by having tall apartment it reduce land area of many families in one block' is a run-on sentence laden with tense and preposition errors. Grammatical and punctuation errors are frequent: verb tenses shift inappropriately (e.g., 'was build' instead of 'were built'), and articles are frequently missing or incorrect. Although the basic meaning can usually be discerned, errors in grammar and punctuation occasionally strain the reader and impede smooth comprehension. These features closely match the Band 5.0 to 5.5 descriptors, and a score of 5.0 is awarded.

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

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