Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

As urban populations continue to grow, cities face mounting pressure to provide sufficient housing. A group of individuals argue that building tall apartment blocks is the most effective solution. From my perspective, I firmly agree with the notion. This essay will examine the environmental and social benefits of high-rise housing, before addressing the safety issues it presents.

One major environmental benefit, a view I strongly support, is that tall apartment block require far less land than traditional housing. Building upward preserve open space for parks, green areas, protecting cities from urban sprawl. Equally, this approach allows far more people to be housed within the same area, directly addressing severe overcrowding. For instance, a single high-rise can accommodate hundreds of families on a plot that would otherwise house only a handful of low-rise homes.

Another significant are the social and economic advantages of centrally located high-rise housing. Because such blocks are typically built within city center, residents stay close to essential services like schools, hospitals and public transport. Moreover, this also place them nearer to job opportunities and business hubs, reducing commute times and improving overall quality of life. As illustration, someone living in a central tower might need a short walk or train ride to work, rather than facing a lengthy commute from the outskirts.

However, tall apartment blocks are not without their risks. In emergencies such as fires or earthquakes, evacuating hundreds of residents is far more complex than evacuating low-rise home, putting more lives at risk. For example, a fire on an upper floor can trap residents if elevators become unstable and stairwells grow overcrowding. Nevertheless, these risks can be significantly reduced through strict building codes and regular safety drills.

In conclusion, although tall apartment blocks can present genuine safety concerns if left unmanaged, it undoubtedly offers not only environmental benefits but also social and economic benefits make them a highly effective solution to the housing shortage in large cities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response covers all parts of the task well, presenting a clear position throughout the essay. The writer addresses the statement regarding tall apartment blocks and successfully explores both the environmental and social advantages, as well as the safety risks associated with high-rise buildings. Ideas are well developed and extended, such as the example of how a single high-rise accommodates hundreds of families while preserving open space, and the discussion of proximity to job opportunities and public transport. The conclusion effectively summarizes the main stance. The requirements of the prompt are fully met with relevant examples and sound reasoning, aligning well with the Band 7 level criteria.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay demonstrates clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct central topic, starting with the introduction of the essay's scope, followed by environmental benefits, social and economic advantages, safety risks, and a concluding summary. Cohesive devices such as 'One major environmental benefit', 'Another significant are', 'However', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader through the argument. Paragraphing is used appropriately and effectively. While referencing is mostly clear, minor slips in cohesion and phrasing occur, such as 'Another significant are', which prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. Overall, the structural flow is coherent and logical.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary that allows for some flexibility and precision, such as 'urban populations', 'mounting pressure', 'urban sprawl', and 'emergency evacuation contexts'. There is an attempt to use less common lexical items like 'accommodate', 'infrastructure', and 'unmanaged'. However, there are a few noticeable lexical and grammatical collocation errors, such as 'tall apartment block require' (singular/plural mismatch), 'Another significant are' (word form error), and 'grow overcrowding' (incorrect word form). Despite these occasional slips, the vocabulary used is adequate to convey meaning clearly and accurately without impeding the reader's understanding.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer showcases a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and conditional structures, such as 'From my perspective, I firmly agree with the notion' and 'For instance, a single high-rise can accommodate hundreds of families on a plot that would otherwise house only a handful of low-rise homes.' There are frequent error-free sentences, demonstrating good control of overall grammar and punctuation. However, several grammatical inaccuracies persist throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement errors ('tall apartment block require'), missing articles or incorrect plurals ('low-rise home'), and word form errors ('grow overcrowding'). These errors do not impede communication, placing the response solidly in the Band 6.5 to 7 range.

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.