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)

In todays growing world where the poplulation is at its peak, the demand for housing and luxury is at its peak, the best way to provide enough homes in large cities is to build tall apartment blocks.

As mentioned above,the world is rapidly changing and evolving. The population is at its peak in today's world and with increase in population, there comes an equally long list of the demands of the people. One of which is the basic requirement of a shelter. So if, for example, there 10 families with 5 members each, therell be requirement of 10 housing situation. Thus, the greater the population, greater is the need as well as want for shelters.

In these types of situations, building tall apartment blocks becomes more logical and practical since it can provide 100's of families with a roof within the same building and within the same area, rather than just catering to a single family with a huge bunglow in the same area and space.

This helps to significantly reduce the land and area required to build a house per family and can cater to larger populations.

This saves a lot of land, area, money and resourses.

As for example, I have been to the place of my very wealthy friend, she has a home so big, that almost 5-7 tall buildings can be built on the same land and area, providing housing for many than just a family of one.

This was in terms of the hysical aspect of the availability of land area, however there can be a mental and emotional side to this as well.

In today's changing world, isolation rates, depression rates are growing rapidly. In large cities, the life of people is hectic, stressfull and isolated as it is. No one has any real times for anyone, let alone themselves. no one really knows who their neighbours are, or it they even have one.

Thus, in large cities building tall apartment blocks can cater to many families at the same time as well as offer a great way to stay active and social, which can reduce the isolation and depression rates.

To support this, I have another example of myself. I live in an apartment which has 100 apartments in one building and there are 10 buildings within the society. Everyone here is very friendly and neighbourly. We celebrate festivals together, have game nights and movie nights on weekends,and a lot more. It is always fun and social without feeling isolated or alone all the time.

In conclusion, as every coin has two sides, tall buildings in large cities too may have its pros and cons but i strongly believe in the pros of it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the prompt, taking a clear and consistent stance in agreement with the statement that tall apartment blocks are the best way to provide housing in large cities. The response presents relevant ideas, such as land conservation and the social benefits of apartment living. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed or rely on simplistic examples, such as comparing a single friend's large bungalow to multiple apartment buildings. While the position is clear throughout, the support tends to rely on personal anecdote rather than broader societal analysis, which keeps the response within the Band 6 or 7 range. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, meeting the requirements of the prompt with a clear position and supporting arguments.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt at paragraphing, separating the introduction, physical arguments, psychological arguments, and conclusion. Ideas are generally sequenced logically, moving from land availability to mental health benefits. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, expressions like 'As for example' and 'This was in terms of the hysical aspect' are awkward. Furthermore, paragraphing could be managed more skilfully, as some paragraphs are a single sentence or overly repetitive. Cohesive devices are used, but their mechanical application prevents the essay from reaching higher bands.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'conserve', 'isolation', and 'neighbourly'. However, there are noticeable spelling errors ('poplulation', 'therell', 'bunglow', 'resourses', 'hysical', 'stressfull') and some inaccurate word choices ('housing situation' instead of 'housing units'). While these errors do not impede overall communication, they reflect a lack of precision and control over spelling that limits the lexical score to Band 6. To achieve a higher score, the student needs to expand their range of collocation and eliminate basic spelling mistakes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at conditional structures and relative clauses ('In todays growing world where the population is at its peak...'). However, there are frequent errors in punctuation, subject-verb agreement, and article usage (e.g., missing apostrophes in contractions, comma splices, and phrasing like 'no one has any real times for anyone'). Despite these errors, the meaning is generally clear and they rarely impede communication. The control over grammar is sufficient for a Band 6, showing adequate control over simple sentences while making regular mistakes in more complex constructions.

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