Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-29

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)

Housing crisis is increasing throughout the world than ever before. I completely agree that the best approach is to build taller buildings in populated cities, which will help to increase the number of apartments and make homes more affordable for everyone.

One major reason is that when builders will choose to make taller buildings in small areas of lands that will facilitate the utilization of land. For example, a 5 acres of land, where if a building is made of 5 stores that will have less apartments, whereas if in the same land, 10 storey is built that will increase the number of apartments. As a result, it will significantly help to mitigate the housing problems, as one land can accommodate more families.

Another compelling reaosn is that it will lower the overall apartments price, since more spaces are available now. Not only that it will help developer companies to generate more revenue. As builders can build more floors, their overall profit would increase, at the same time they can offer flats at a cheaper rate since availability would be better. For instance, in Bangladesh, government increased the minimum height of buildings from 6 to 10 storeys in 10 acres of land. Consequently, the housing price fell considerably, and the buyers were happy. Moreover, builders were also experiencing a substantial rise in sales in all projects.

To conclude, allowing taller buildings could be a good way out to meet the rising demand of apartments, as it benefits both the buyers and developer companies.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt directly, presenting a clear position agreeing that building taller apartment blocks is the best solution for urban housing shortages. The main ideas are supported with reasons and examples, such as land utilization and a specific reference to Bangladesh. However, the development of ideas remains somewhat basic and general, preventing the essay from reaching higher bands. For instance, the discussion on developer revenue and housing prices in the third paragraph is relevant and extended, but the overall depth of argumentation aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors, where relevant ideas are presented and supported, though some parts feel slightly under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different arguments. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as "One major reason is," "Another compelling reason is," and "To conclude." However, referencing and transitions are at times mechanical or slightly awkward, such as "when builders will choose to make taller buildings in small areas of lands that will facilitate." While the logical progression is clear overall, the mechanical nature of the cohesion keeps it firmly within the Band 6 descriptor range, where cohesion is sometimes faulty or repetitive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as "mitigate the housing problems," "revenue," and "considerably." There are, however, noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as "small areas of lands" instead of "small areas of land," "stores" instead of "storeys," and "apartments price" instead of "apartment prices." Less common items are attempted with some inaccuracy. Because these errors do not impede communication and the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning, the response fits the Band 6 level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms. The writer attempts complex structures, but these frequently contain grammatical errors, such as "when builders will choose to make taller buildings in small areas of lands that will facilitate..." and "where if a building is made of 5 stores that will have less apartments, whereas if in the same land, 10 storey is built that will increase..." There are also tense inconsistencies and preposition errors. Although errors in grammar and punctuation are frequent, they rarely impede communication, which aligns with the Band 6 criteria.

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

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