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)

Building tall apartments blocks in large cities to accommodate enough people is now becoming a trend. However, the statement that it is the best way to provide enough homes, is quite controversial issue today. I strongly agree with the statement about building tall apartments. This will essay explain why I support this perspective.

The primary reason for my opinion is that if we don't built tall apartment blocks then people will build houses by deforestation. People from countryside are moving to cities due to several reasons like; for educational purposes or in search of better job opportunities. Therefore, the population in large cities is rising rapidly due to which there is an increase in the need of more and more homes.

Although the government is making different societies to make new neighborhoods for people to live in by cutting down the trees and utilize the land for human purposes, this has a negative impact on our ecological system. That's why I believe that by having tall buildings, more families or people can have homes in one building which takes less space as compared to when they build their own homes in neighborhoods.

The second reason of my opinion is that by living in a tall building, people can engage more with each other by having homes at same place. This can reduce the travelling expenses people bear to meet each other, moreover, the reduced travelling will in return influence the environment positively.

In conclusion, to provide enough homes to people, in large cities, the best way is to build tall apartment blocks. Because it will reduce human activities which affect our ecosystem badly, promotes a healthy environment, and people make more engaging communities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the prompt by stating a clear position of strong agreement with the statement regarding building tall apartment blocks in large cities. The main ideas are relevant and supported with explanations, such as preventing deforestation and promoting community engagement. However, some arguments lack deeper elaboration. For instance, the point about social engagement and reduced traveling expenses is introduced but not fully extended with concrete examples or rigorous logical progression. Therefore, the response aligns best with Band 6.5 or a solid Band 6, as it addresses the task fully in scope but keeps the development slightly general and under-developed in places, such as the brief conclusion that simply restates points without adding synthesis.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response has a clear overall structure and a logical progression of ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, two body paragraphs, and the conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed to connect ideas, such as 'Therefore', 'Although', 'That's why', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and transitions are at times slightly mechanical or repetitive, as seen with phrases like 'The primary reason for my opinion is' and 'The second reason of my opinion is'. Additionally, cohesion within paragraphs could be smoother to avoid choppy sentence structures. Overall, the organizational framework meets the criteria for Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range suitable for the task, successfully using terms like 'accommodate', 'ecological system', 'deforestation', and 'population'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text. For example, the student writes 'quite controversial issue today' (missing an article), 'dont built' (spelling/form error), and 'making different societies to make new neighborhoods' (awkward collocation). There are also stylistic slips, such as 'badly' instead of 'adversely'. Because the lexical resource is sufficient to communicate the main points but contains frequent minor lexical errors, a Band 6 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures like 'if we don't built tall apartment blocks then people will build houses by deforestation' and concessive clauses with 'Although'. However, grammatical control is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, such as subject-verb agreement and tense issues ('if we don't built', 'This will essay explain', 'the need of more and more homes'), as well as awkward preposition usage ('reason of my opinion'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but comma splices and missing articles occasionally occur. These errors do not impede overall communication, placing the grammar securely in the Band 6 category.

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