Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-22
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 argued that the best way to provide sufficient accommodation in metropolitan cities is to construct high rise apartment buildings. I strongly agree with this view because they can accommodate more number of people while using less land and they can provide people with convenient access to basic facilities and services.
To began with, the main reason why i agree is that they can accommodate more number of people while using less land. This is because the pouplation in metropolitan cities is raising day by day on various conditions. Land is the basic need for every citizen for having a shulter. In large cities the amount of land is less, so to avoid this problem construction of high rise apartment buildings is most convenient way to provide accommodation for maximum number of citezens. For instance, during my undergraduation i lived in Chennai, which is a large city. Finding an independent house is very tough, then i moved to gated community where more than 300 families had sufficient accommodation.
Furthermore, another important reason is that tall apartment blocks provide people with convenient access to basic facilities and services. This is because employees can go to their workplace when they stay in nearby apartments. Basic facilities like groceries, food,
schools for kids are available easily.While, living in apartements secutity for kids, maintainance every thing can be take care mostly by the communities.For instance, living in gated community has more number of facilities like stores, food stalls, play area.
In conclusion, I strongly agree with this view because they can accommodate more number of people while using less land and they can provide people with convenient access to basic facilities and services.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student addresses all parts of the prompt by presenting a clear position agreeing with the statement that tall apartment blocks are the best way to provide homes in large cities. Main ideas are supported with relevant explanations and personal examples, such as living in Chennai during undergraduate studies. The position is maintained throughout the essay. However, the development of ideas remains somewhat repetitive and relies heavily on generalised points regarding land usage and convenience, which prevents the response from reaching the higher bands. It satisfies the requirements for a Band 6.5 or 6 descriptor profile well, earning a solid Band 6.0 for presenting a relevant and supported position despite under-developed arguments.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct arguments regarding land use and convenience. However, cohesive devices are sometimes faulty or repetitive, seen in phrases like 'To began with' and mechanical linking. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as pronoun use in the conclusion ('because they can accommodate'). There is also a punctuation error in sentence joining ('easily.While, living...'). This demonstrates the characteristics of Band 6, where logical organisation is present, but cohesion is sometimes mechanical and referencing can be imprecise.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The writer uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'metropolitan cities', 'sufficient accommodation', and 'gated community'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including 'began' instead of 'begin', 'pouplation', 'raising' instead of 'rising', 'shulter' instead of 'shelter', 'citezens', 'undergraduation', and 'maintainance'. These lexical inaccuracies and spelling slips occur regularly, though they rarely impede overall communication. This performance fits the Band 6 descriptor, reflecting an adequate range with some inaccuracy in spelling and word choice.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in structure. However, there are frequent grammatical and punctuation errors. Examples include tense and agreement slips like 'more number of people' (instead of 'a greater number of people'), missing articles, awkward clause integration ('While, living in apartements secutity for kids, maintainance every thing can be take care mostly by the communities'), and spelling mistakes impacting grammar. While the meaning remains clear despite these errors, they prevent the text from achieving a higher band. The presence of a mix of structures alongside frequent errors firmly places this response at Band 5.5.
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.