Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-25

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 argued that the building tall apartment blocks is the most efficient method to reduce the housing crisis in big cities. This essay will agree with this statement because contructing apartment buildings can create more organized housing space for people and increase social interactions as well among neighbors.

Urbanization is a major concern in big cities and there is not enough space to accommodate all the people which can sometimes results in creation of slums in larger cities. Building tall apartment blocks can provide a solution to this problem as these buildings can accommodate a large amount of people in a more organized and relatively smaller area. For example, in countries like China and Korea, where polupation is rapidly growing, their government is constructing more apartment blocks in their cities as these can contain a large number of people in a systametic manner without creating any clutter in cities.

Furthermore, the apartments in these blocks are close to each other which improves social interactions among neighbors. People in these apartments can feel more connected to each other as compared to others who live at a distance. For instance, children who live in closeby spaces often be more confident and socially active as they interact with more people and spend more time with their friends as well.

To conclude, building apartment blocks can provide a solution to some of the bigger issues that are currently faced in the world as these blocks can contain a large amount of residents in a better and organized fashion and can induce better relationships among neighbors.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by clearly stating a position agreeing with the prompt and presenting supporting ideas. The essay argues that tall apartment blocks create organized housing space and foster social interactions. Ideas are relevant and supported with examples, such as mentioning China and Korea to illustrate government responses to rapid population growth. However, some arguments, particularly the link between living in close proximity and children's confidence, tend to be slightly over-generalized and under-developed. Nevertheless, a clear position is maintained throughout the essay. The task is adequately fulfilled, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptors where all parts are addressed and relevant ideas are presented, although some development lacks depth.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Information and ideas are logically sequenced, moving from the problem of urbanization to organized housing solutions, and then to social interactions. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct main points. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as "Furthermore" and "To conclude," though referencing and transitions are at times slightly mechanical or repetitive in structure. For instance, the transition between sentences occasionally relies on basic connectors rather than subtle referencing. Overall, the organizational structure is clear and follows a logical progression throughout, fitting the Band 6 level well.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as "urbanization," "accommodate," "systematic," and "interaction." However, there are notable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, such as "contructing" instead of constructing, "polupation" instead of population, and "systametic" instead of systematic. Additionally, phrases like "closeby spaces" are slightly unnatural. While these lexical errors are noticeable, they do not impede communication, and the vocabulary remains minimally sufficient to convey the intended meaning, matching the criteria for Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including relative clauses ("where polupation is rapidly growing") and comparative structures ("more connected to each other as compared to others"). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasing instances, such as the initial article error in "It is argued that the building tall apartment blocks" and subject-verb agreement issues like "children who live in closeby spaces often be more confident." Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors in grammar occur, they rarely impede communication. The control of grammar aligns with a Band 6 performance due to the mix of structures alongside persistent non-systematic errors.

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