Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-28

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)

Many large cities have a problem because there is not enough housing for everyone. Some people think building tall apartment blocks is the best way to solve this problem. I completely agree with this statement because the large apartments give the amount of living space and reduce the house maintenance costs.

To begin with, many large cities have tall housing blocks; it creates multiple accommodation spaces for the individuals. Many cities also have private houses; they provide the separate living facilities but reduce the land spaces for the others. So the authorities started the work on the multiple accommodation spaces and built the tall apartment blocks instead of the single-story house. Therefore, a number of people can have an accommodation space. That's the reason I believe that building tall apartment blocks provides a number of homes in large cities. For example, Mumbai has not enough housing spaces; therefore, the Mumbai government focuses on building tall apartment blocks to provide sufficient homes for the people.

Moreover, in a tall apartment, blocks reduce the housing maintenance costs. In a single-story house, there are high maintenance costs, like the garden maintenance, in-house cleaning, and many more costs that are very high. In a tall apartment, blocks also have maintenance costs, but the costs are divided by other residential residents, so indirectly the maintenance costs are quite low as compared to the single independent house. Thus, I am completely on the side of the build tall apartment blocks. For instance, in foreign countries like Canada, the UK, and Australia, many students live in apartments instead of the single house, which reduces their housing costs.

In conclusion, a tall apartment block provides a number of accommodations and reduces the living costs, so large cities have a number of tall apartment buildings, which provides enough housing space for the people. I totally agree with this essay to build the multiple story blocks.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by clearly stating a position agreeing with the statement that tall apartment blocks are the best way to provide housing in large cities. The student provides two main supporting ideas: creating multiple living spaces and reducing maintenance costs. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat repetitive and lacks depth. For instance, the discussion on Mumbai and the mention of countries like Canada, the UK, and Australia are introduced as examples, but they remain superficial rather than being fully elaborated to strengthen the argument. The position is maintained throughout the essay, but the ideas tend to circle around the same points without significant extension, placing this response comfortably at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a clear overall organisation with a standard four-paragraph structure comprising an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is frequently mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent reliance on transitional phrases like "To begin with," "Moreover," and "Thus." Additionally, referencing and pronoun use can be slightly confusing at times, such as in the phrase "in a tall apartment, blocks reduce the housing maintenance costs," where punctuation errors disrupt the flow. While the logical progression is generally discernible, cohesion is faulty in places, leading to a Band 6.0 score.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating everyday concepts related to housing, cities, and maintenance costs. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as "accommodation spaces," "authorities," and "residential residents," but these are sometimes awkwardly phrased or repetitive (e.g., repeating "accommodation space" multiple times). Word choice and collocation errors are noticeable, such as "build the tall apartment blocks" instead of "building tall apartment blocks" or "residential residents" which is redundant. Spelling and word formation are generally accurate, but the restricted flexibility and precision limit the score to a 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in article usage, preposition selection, and phrasing, such as "there is not enough housing," "reduce the land spaces for the others," and "I am completely on the side of the build tall apartment blocks." Punctuation errors also occur, such as unnecessary commas separating subjects and verbs (e.g., "in a tall apartment, blocks reduce..."). Although these errors do not severely impede overall communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the response from achieving a higher band, making Band 5.5 an accurate reflection of grammatical control.

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