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 often argued that buliding high rise apartment blocks in large city is the best way to provide enough homes to the residents, i completely agree with this view because high rise apartment buildings can be both environmental and cost friendly.

The main reason why i agree with this view is that high rise buldings are more environment friendly as compared to homes. We can make hundreds of apartments inside one residential building, but on the other hand we need to have a lot of space to build 100 homes. To do so, we have to cut down forests and turn several acres of agricultural land into resdential land, which is disastourous for our environment and it will also have a very negative effect on wild life living there. For example; a recent studies has shown that there was 35 percent rise in deforestation in last decade, beacuse of increasing trends towards building housing socities.

Another significant reason why i agree with building these apartmantel buildings is it can be very cost effective. In today's world, due to rising inflation, it is very difficult to own a home, but on the other hand owning an apartment can be quite affordable. It is one of the reasons that younger people have started shifting towards owning an apartment due to it's lower cost. For example, my brother has recently bought an apartment in city center for half of the price of an average home.

In conclusion, I strongly agree with the view that building high rise apartmental building is the best way to provide homes in large cities, because these apartments can be very environmental friendly and cost effective too.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by clearly stating a position on whether tall apartment blocks are the best way to provide housing. The viewpoint is maintained throughout the response. Ideas are extended and supported with relevant examples, such as the environmental impact of deforestation and a personal anecdote regarding cost-effectiveness. For instance, the student notes that 'a recent studies has shown that there was 35 percent rise in deforestation'. However, some ideas tend towards generalization and could benefit from further depth. Overall, the task is successfully addressed, meeting the expectations for a Band 6.5 or solid Band 6 level through relevant ideas and a clear position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Logical sequencing is present, with paragraph topics clearly introduced, such as 'The main reason why i agree...' and 'Another significant reason why i agree...'. However, referencing and cohesive devices are at times mechanical or slightly repetitive, and there are punctuation/capitalization issues (e.g., lowercase 'i' used for the pronoun 'I'). Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the argument, but the cohesive links between sentences could be managed more flexibly. This performance aligns well with the Band 6 descriptor.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'environmental friendly', 'cost effective', and 'inflation'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, including 'buliding' instead of building, 'disastourous', 'wild life', 'beacuse', 'societies' (used as socities), and 'apartmantel'. While these errors do not severely impede communication, they reflect recurrent slips that prevent the score from reaching a higher band. The vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the intended meaning, which fits the Band 5.5 to 6 threshold well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some ability to construct longer sentences with clauses (e.g., 'To do so, we have to cut down forests and turn several acres of agricultural land into resdential land, which is disastourous...'). However, there are frequent grammatical and punctuation errors, such as comma splices ('...provide enough homes to the residents, i completely agree...'), subject-verb agreement errors ('a recent studies has shown'), and lower-case personal pronouns. These errors occur regularly across the text, though they rarely impede overall communication. This matches the profile of a Band 5.5 or 6 structure.

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.