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)

Some people believe that to encounter residential shortcomings, high rising apartment buildings sould be built.

Firstly, individuals in cities around the globe are facing dwelling issues and it can be solved either by building tall towers or by expanding cities and constructing new suburbs to provide more options for housing.

Constructing high rising building has its benifits and drawbacks. High rising buildings solve the land issue where it is scare and it provides a splended view of the city from that height, espacially for cities where it is facing ocean, a lake, or a river. However, it aslo makes individals to compromise in privacy because of shared spaces like parking, foyer, and mail room. Moreover, tall buildings in a small area looks like a concrete jungle and it does not provide more opportunites to relax due to constant noise of city.

On the other hand, extending the city and building new suburbs without tall towers is an alternate solution and it can significantly solve the issue of housing without stacking homes on top of each other. These homes gives sense of belongingness as it does not share the roof or the floor with any other person. Unlike apartment blocks, people can use their roofs and floors as they wish without being intervened by their neighbours. Furthermore, houses can provide enough space for kids to play in yard and make them feel like they are playing in an open ground which is not the case in tall buildings.

In conslusion, I personally believe that new suburbs could be a good solution for tackling housing delimma instead of opting for huge apartment buildings.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the main alternative to building tall apartment blocks, which is expanding cities with suburbs, and clearly states a personal position in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the discussion of the drawbacks of high-rise buildings mentions privacy and noise, but these points are not fully extended with specific examples or deep elaboration. Similarly, the advantages of suburbs are mentioned briefly. The response meets all basic requirements of addressing the task fully enough to warrant a Band 6.0, as it presents a clear position and relevant ideas, though some parts are under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay is generally coherent with a logical overarching structure, utilizing a standard four-paragraph format with an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Transitional markers such as 'Firstly', 'However', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader through the argumentation. However, paragraphing is somewhat basic and the progression of ideas occasionally feels mechanical. Furthermore, referencing is sometimes imprecise, such as using 'it' without a completely clear antecedent in sentences like 'it aslo makes individals to compromise'. Cohesion is functional overall, earning a solid Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common topics-related items such as 'residential shortcomings', 'concrete jungle', and 'housing delimma'. However, there are numerous noticeable spelling errors and word-choice inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'encounter' instead of 'solve', 'high rising' instead of 'high-rise', 'scare' instead of 'scarce', 'espacially', 'aslo', 'individals', and 'conslusion'. These errors do not seriously impede overall communication, but they restrict the lexical score to a Band 5.5 because precision and correct spelling are lacking for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some capacity for subordination and coordination with conjunctions like 'although' and relative clauses. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors including subject-verb agreement issues ('tall buildings... looks like'), incorrect prepositions, and article omissions. There are also typographical and structural slips such as 'These homes gives sense of belongingness'. While these errors rarely completely impede understanding, they occur frequently enough to prevent the score from reaching Band 6.0, placing it firmly at a Band 5.0.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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