Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-24

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 6.0)

Rapid Urbanization has led to severe housing shortage issues in the major metropolitian areas worldwide. While some argue that the constructions of high rise building is the ultimate solution to this crisis, others believe it causes serious enviornmental issues. In my opinion, while building tall buildings is an efficient tool to minimize the crisis, but it should not be considered the only solution to the cause.

On the one hand, high rise buildings unparallel advantages in terms of space optimization. Large cities suffer from severe land scarcity as the projects occupy largenumber of land mass. They should rather plan in vertical manner moreover to horizontal planning. For example, cities like Singapore and Honkong have adapted this stratergy to occupy their population in a smarter way.

However, relying solely on this approach also have various drabacks to it. The tall skyscrappers have higher maintenance cost which often lead to expensive rents and eventually leading to higher cost of living, That defeats the purpose of providing affordable living.

In conclusion, although building tall apartment blocks is an effective and highly practical stratergy to tackle housing shortages in densely populated cities, it is not a standalone remedy. A balanced approach should be introduced and inculcated the stratergies of better planning has to be made and better policies towards the society should also be considered via government. Combining all these issues a sustainable way out should be made that can be having to consider vertical construction with development of satellite towns and improved regional transit networks.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing the extent of agreement regarding tall apartment blocks. The student takes a clear position in the introduction stating that while vertical building is efficient, it should not be the only solution. Ideas are extended with examples such as Singapore and Hong Kong, and drawbacks such as maintenance costs are discussed. However, some arguments in the conclusion and final paragraphs become slightly repetitive or under-developed. Overall, the task is successfully and appropriately covered, earning a solid Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a clear overall arrangement with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the argument. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'On the one hand' and 'However', though some transitions feel a bit mechanical or awkward, such as 'Combining all these issues a sustainable way out should be made'. Referencing is generally clear, but the flow in the final paragraph is slightly hindered by run-on phrasing. This performance aligns comfortably with the Band 6 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'urbanization', 'scarcity', and 'maintenance cost'. However, there are several spelling and word-choice errors, including 'metropolitian' instead of metropolitan, 'enviornmental', 'largenumber', 'stratergy', 'drabacks', and 'skyscrappers'. While these errors do not impede overall communication, their frequency prevents the score from reaching Band 7. The lexical range is sufficient for a Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response shows a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'While some argue that...'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward structures throughout, including 'the constructions of high rise building', 'occupy largenumber of land mass', and 'which often lead to expensive rents and eventually leading to higher cost of living'. Punctuation and comma splices also occur, such as before 'but' in the introduction. Because errors are noticeable and occasionally cause slight difficulty, this warrants a Band 5.5.

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