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)

The most important solution to provide enough housing for everyone is to build tall buildings in big cities.I completely agree with this view becuase it protects environment and allow countries to use space for other purposes as well.

One of the most crucial reasons is that tall buildings save environment. This means that when more space is used to buid houses, more green land and agricultural land around the cities to used for housing purposes. As a result, this leads to environment destruction and makes the cities polluted. For example, India is the most polluted country because tall buildings are built in only a few cities for providing housing facilties, in proportion to higher population and demands of housing.

Another reason is that building sky scrapers save space and allow governments to use space for other infrastructures. That is to say, if earth is saved, states can utilize it for making other significant buildings such as schooling, hospitals, godwons, railways and so on. Consequently, This leads to better infrastructure facilties and make cities more structured. Moreover, people could enjoy all the amenities near by them. For example, Chandigarh city in India properly architructured that allow citizens to enjoy facilities in all sectors of the city.

In conclusion, building big building to satisfy the need of housing for all is the most viable solutiion that not only protects the environment but also allow government to use the earth more wisely by providing good infrastructure for all individuals.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt directly, taking a clear position in agreement with building tall apartment blocks. The ideas are relevant, focusing on environmental protection and land conservation for other infrastructure. However, the task achievement is impacted by two main issues. First, the essay falls short of the 250-word minimum requirement, containing only 246 words, which incurs a penalty. Second, the development of ideas relies on some faulty logic and questionable generalizations, such as claiming India is the most polluted country specifically because tall buildings are only built in a few cities. While the position is clear and the main arguments are stated, the support tends to be slightly under-developed and unconvincing due to factual inaccuracies, fitting comfortably into the band 5.5 to 6.0 descriptor range, ultimately receiving a 5.5 due to the length penalty.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a recognizable overall structure with an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. Cohesive devices are employed to connect sentences, using transitions like 'One of the most crucial reasons', 'Another reason', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, the phrase 'if earth is saved' is an awkward transitional link, and some sentences lack smooth flow. Additionally, referencing pronouns like 'This leads to better infrastructure facilities' sometimes lack precise antecedents. Despite these flaws, the progression of ideas is generally clear enough to guide the reader through the argument, warranting a solid band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'infrastructure', 'amenities', and 'viable solution'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text. Examples include 'becuase' (because), 'buid' (build), 'sky scrapers' (skyscrapers), 'godwons' (godowns/warehouses), and 'architructured' (structured or architected). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur with enough frequency to restrict the score to a band 5.5, as they highlight a lack of precision and control over spelling and word formation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures such as 'This means that when more space is used...' and 'if earth is saved, states can utilize it...'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement and pluralization, such as 'protects environment' (protects the environment), 'allow countries' (allows countries), and 'make cities' (makes cities). Punctuation errors are also present, including missing spaces after periods (e.g., 'cities.I completely'). These errors persist throughout the text and occasionally cause slight hesitation for the reader, aligning the grammar profile with a band 5.5.

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.