Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-27
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 5.0)
In many large cities, the demand for housing is inceasing continuously because of population growth. Some people believe that constructing tall apartment buildings is the best solution to this problem. I firmly agree with this statement because high-rise buildings can provide people more homes and use land efficiently. However, other housing solutions should also considered. This essay answer both questions by examining the main reasons for this issue and suggesting possible solutions.
On the one hand, Building tall apartment blocks is effective way to provide accommodation for a large number of people. Because cities have limited land space and constructing houses with gardens need consideralbe space. In cotrast, high-rise buildings can provide hundreds of flats in the same building on one land. As a result, more people can live near to their workplace. For example, in Dubai, many people live in apartment buildings, which helps accomodate the growing population without expanding the city.
On the other hand, living in high-rise building can also create several problems. Overcrowded apartment can put pressure on public facilities such as hospitals, schools and roads. In addition, some people prefer living in independent houses because they want more privacy, outdoor space and freedom. For instance, I live in an apartment which is infront of the road because of this i can not walk and in my apartment i don't have garden or space for walk. Therefore many people are facing health issues.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response addresses the prompt by clearly taking a stance in agreement with building tall apartment blocks while acknowledging alternative solutions. However, there is a minor contradiction in the introduction where the student states they firmly agree, yet also mention that 'other housing solutions should also considered' and that the essay answers 'both questions' (there was only one question). Furthermore, the task requires a minimum of 250 words, but this response contains only 237 words, making it 13 words short. This negative impact on length restricts the development of ideas, preventing the response from reaching the higher band levels. Because of the under-length penalty and the slightly confused phrasing in the introduction, the task response is capped at Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays a generally coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, dividing the introduction, body paragraphs logically. Cohesive devices are used to signal transitions, such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, the sentence 'This essay answer both questions by examining the main reasons for this issue and suggesting possible solutions' is misplaced since this is an opinion essay, not a problem-solution essay. Paragraphing is present, but logical progression falters slightly due to abrupt shifts, such as introducing a heavily personal, anecdotal example ('For instance, I live in an apartment...') which detracts from the academic tone. Overall, the organizational structure meets the criteria for Band 6.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'population growth', 'accommodation', 'overcrowded', and 'public facilities'. However, there are several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, such as 'inceasing' instead of 'increasing', 'consideralbe' instead of 'considerable', 'cotrast' instead of 'contrast', and 'accomodate' instead of 'accommodate'. The phrasing 'live near to their workplace' also contains an unnecessary preposition. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to restrict the score. The vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the intended meaning, aligning well with the descriptors for Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some ambition with subordinate clauses (e.g., 'because high-rise buildings can provide people more homes and use land efficiently'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors and omissions. For instance, 'other housing solutions should also considered' misses the auxiliary verb 'be', and 'Building tall apartment blocks is effective way' lacks the article 'an'. Punctuation and word order issues also appear, such as in the sentence 'because of this i can not walk and in my apartment i don't have garden or space for walk'. These frequent grammatical inaccuracies and lack of capitalization for the pronoun 'i' cause some strain for the reader, placing this text firmly at Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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