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)

Now a days, increasing population is a major concern. People migrated from rural to urban areas for the better livings. The best way to overcome these problems, I strongly agree with this statement is to construct tall apartment blocks in the developing cities. In this essay, I will discuss about the reasons regarding this problem and draw the conclusion.

To commence, there are several factors essential to facilitate people in large cities. Firstly, Although there is limited availability of land, the tall buildings can accommodate more people, and prevent cities from spreading outward. For instance, high-rise residential buildings in major cities can help many families to live on a relatively small area. To elaborate this, there is a lot of advantages when people live together as one community. They will be abled to create friendly environment among them, and always ready to serve each other great hospitality. Despite this, it also helps to conserve our land resources and used for other efficient purposes instead of construction.

On the other hand, apartments can be more practical and affordable. However, the construction involves hundreds of housing units, and it can also provide housing near workplaces, schools and public transport. For example, the jobs are quite less demanding for the people living close to their workplaces. To demonstrate this, the cost for per apartment is less in contrast to separate houses.

To conclude, I strongly support this statement because tall apartment blocks are an effective solution especially when population is increasing and land is scarce. A balance approach should be required that proves beneficial in the future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by clearly stating a position agreeing with the statement that tall apartment blocks are the best way to provide housing in large cities. The main ideas, such as saving land resources and providing practical, affordable housing near workplaces, are introduced and supported with examples like high-rise residential buildings. However, some ideas are a bit repetitive or lack full extension. For instance, the discussion around community living and hospitality is slightly tangential to the core housing debate. Overall, the prompt is adequately addressed, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptors where relevant ideas are presented, although some aspects require tighter development.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is generally coherent with a clear overarching structure, including an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct points, such as land conservation versus practical affordability. Cohesive devices are employed, including transition markers like 'To commence', 'Firstly', and 'On the other hand'. However, referencing and logical progression are sometimes affected by awkward phrasing and mechanical links, such as 'To elaborate this' and 'To demonstrate this'. Furthermore, the relationship between sentences in the second body paragraph feels slightly disjointed. This level of organisation and occasional faulty cohesion corresponds to a Band 6 score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common terms such as 'accommodate', 'conserve', 'resources', and 'affordable'. However, there are noticeable word-choice and collocation errors throughout the essay, including 'better livings' instead of 'better lives', 'a lot of advantages' instead of 'many advantages', and 'balance approach' instead of 'balanced approach'. There are also minor stylistic issues like 'Now a days'. Despite these inaccuracies, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning without impeding communication, fitting the Band 6 criteria.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, featuring relative clauses and conditional ideas like 'tall buildings can accommodate more people, and prevent cities from spreading outward'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward structures, such as 'I strongly agree with this statement is to construct', 'They will be abled to create', and 'used for other efficient purposes instead of construction' where the subject is missing. Punctuation and article usage also show occasional lapses. Because simple structures are generally handled well while complex attempts contain frequent errors that do not severely block comprehension, a Band 5.0 is appropriate.

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