Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-19

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 optimal approach to provide sufficient homes in a metropolis is to construct towering apartment blocks. I agree that it's a magnificent method to provide housing for everyone who wants to live in these metropolitan cities, which of course will help the city to not get more congested.

To begin with, most people want to live in large cities. This is because of the advantages they provide; mostly, schools and healthcare are easily accessible nearby, and there is also an increase in job opportunities. For example, by building these tall apartment which eventually provides everyone the chance to get a home of their own, the affordability of these kinds of flats is very generous as well. As a result, they can easily buy these flats, which is cheeper to houses, and can move into them for a better life.

Nowadays, large cities are becoming very congested. This is because of the growing population, and people mostly people find their dream job in mostly in cities, so everyone wants to travel to these cities, which is causing a reduction in houses. For example, when tall apartment blocks are built, it will be very beneficial for them because these apartments can be small and ready to move. As a result, they can move in rapidly and start their life in these new apartments and in their dream cities.

In conclusion, most people want to work in big cities, and for better opportunities they need affordable homes; building these apartment blocks can help them to purchase these properties for them for better life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by stating a clear position on whether tall apartment blocks are the best way to provide housing in large cities. The response outlines relevant ideas, such as accessibility to jobs, healthcare, and schools, alongside the affordability of such buildings. However, some of these ideas are under-developed and tend to repeat similar points regarding population congestion and people wanting to move to cities. For instance, the argument regarding affordability is stated but not fully extended with concrete economic explanations. The position is maintained throughout the essay, meeting the criteria for Band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct points, such as the advantages of city living in the second paragraph and congestion in the third. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and repetitive. Phrases like 'For example' and 'As a result' are overused across paragraphs, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the ambiguous pronoun use in sentences like 'it will be very beneficial for them because these apartments...'. Logical progression is present, but the connections between sentences could be smoother.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'metropolis', 'congested', and 'accessibility'. However, there are notable word-choice and spelling errors that occasionally detract from the writing, such as spelling 'cheaper' as 'cheper', and awkward collocations like 'magnificent method' or 'affordability of these kinds of flats is very generous'. While the vocabulary allows the message to be conveyed successfully, the presence of frequent minor lexical inaccuracies keeps the score at a Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over multi-clause sentences, such as 'This is because of the growing population, and people mostly find their dream job in mostly in cities...'. However, there are noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, including repetitive structures, incorrect prepositions, and redundancy like 'mostly people find... mostly in cities'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the frequency of structural errors and minor slips means that error-free sentences are not in the majority.

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