Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

In recent years, there has been a growing debate about whether the best way to provide enough homes in large cities is to build tall apartment blocks. While some people believe that urban cities it is not good idea construct tall building blocks to provide enough homes. I completely agree with view that in large cities is important to have high-rise buildings is provide enough homes. This essay will explain the main reasons for my position.

One of the major reason why I agree with this view is that it saves land. This is mainly because in urban cities the best way to accommodate large population is to build skyscrapers because it will help to save land and preserve it for other facilities such as parks, sport clubs and gyms, which are are equally important in urban cities. As a result, a large number of people can live together and the city will also progress as it will have all necessary facilities which a city modern should have. Another important reason is that high-rise buildings can make public services and transport better. When people will live together the government will also be able to provide services efficently such as electricity, gas, transport and many other services . Moreover, people may have access to shops grocery easily. For example a tall apartment can provide parking, swimming, sports facilities, grocery store in one building, people won't even need to go outside the building. Therefore, it will be living in tall apartments will make our life easier.

In conclusion, I agree with the view that it is necessary to build tall apartment blocks to accommodate people in urban cities as the city will have better infrastructure and good society to live in. Although it might make city more crowded, I believe it is important to have skyscrapers in the modern city.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by presenting a clear position on whether tall apartment blocks are the best solution for housing in large cities. The response is divided into logical paragraphs and develops key supporting points, such as saving land for public facilities and improving public services and transport infrastructure. For example, the student notes that high-rise living preserves space for parks and sports clubs while allowing governments to deliver utilities more efficiently. However, some ideas are repetitive or slightly under-developed, and the argument occasionally over-generalises, such as claiming people will not even need to leave the building. Overall, the response meets the criteria for Band 6.0 as it addresses all parts with relevant ideas, though some areas require deeper exploration.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate main ideas, such as land conservation in the first body paragraph and public services in the second. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition 'One of the major reason why I agree...' contains a grammatical slip, and cohesive devices are occasionally repetitive or overused, such as 'Moreover' and 'Therefore'. Referencing is generally clear, but the flow between sentences is occasionally disrupted by awkward phrasing. This performance aligns well with the Band 6 descriptor for coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'accommodate', 'infrastructure', 'preserve', and 'efficiently'. However, there are noticeable word-choice and collocation errors that prevent a higher score, such as 'urban cities it is not good idea construct tall building blocks', 'sport clubs', and spelling mistakes like 'efficently'. Despite these inaccuracies, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning without severely impeding communication. This sits comfortably within the Band 6.0 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some ambition with relative clauses and conditional structures. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in basic sentence structure, subject-verb agreement, and missing articles, such as 'in urban cities the best way to accommodate large population', 'a city modern should have', and 'it will be living in tall apartments will make our life easier'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to detract from the overall quality, preventing the essay from reaching Band 6.5. A score of 5.5 is appropriate for this level of grammatical control.

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