Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-30

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)

Nowadays, many people live in large cities, and there is no enough place for everyone. Some people think that building tall apartment block is the best way to solve this problem. I partly agree with this idea.

First of all, tall buildings can provide homes for many people in a small area. Space is also limited in the larger cities and in the appartement people live their in a small area. This can reduce the need of the large area of land for housing. For example, in cities such as Lahore, many people live in apartments because they are suitable for the crowded.

However, I believe that other solutions are also important. Government can develop the new house outiside the building and also improve the other facilities for the people. It also reduce the crowded of the people. Moreover, houses should be built affortable for the low income family because not every one can afford the expensive apartments in tall buildings and also not buy the things. For instance, the house are small but affordable for the families who cannot afford the high rent.

In conclusion, I agree that tall apartment blocks can help provide enough homes in large cities, especially where land is limited. However, I do not think they are the best solution on their own. A combination of high-level apartments and the affordable houses and areas would be more practical way to deal with this problem.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the extent to which tall apartment blocks are the best solution for housing shortages in large cities. You present a clear position, partially agreeing with the statement, and provide supporting ideas regarding both the benefits of vertical housing and the need for affordable alternatives. However, the task achievement is impacted by two main issues. First, the length requirement of 250 words was not met, as the response contains only 239 words, which results in a necessary penalty. Second, some ideas are slightly under-developed or repetitive, such as the discussion around the cost of living and housing availability. To reach a higher band, ensure you fully develop your supporting examples and strictly adhere to the minimum word count requirement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

Your essay has a clear overall progression and is divided into logical paragraphs, including an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'First of all', 'However', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion' to signal shifts in your argument. However, referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly in sentences like 'in the appartement people live their in a small area' and 'Government can develop the new house outiside the building', which creates awkward pauses in reading. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate your ideas, but cohesive devices can feel somewhat mechanical. To improve, work on smoother transitions between sentences and ensure referencing pronouns clearly point to their intended subjects.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your main points effectively. You make attempts at less common vocabulary items, such as 'suitable for the crowded' and 'low income family', but these are often marred by word choice and collocation errors (e.g., 'no enough place', 'appartement', 'affortable', 'outiside'). There are also noticeable spelling mistakes like 'appartement', 'affortable', and 'outiside'. While these lexical errors do not completely impede communication, they restrict the vocabulary score to a band 5.0 because they cause noticeable difficulty and reveal a limited control of word forms and spelling conventions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You demonstrate an attempt at a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, using conjunctions like 'because' and 'although'. However, grammatical accuracy is weak throughout the text. There are frequent errors in articles, prepositions, and verb forms, such as 'there is no enough place', 'building tall apartment block' (missing plural), 'suitable for the crowded', 'It also reduce the crowded', and 'the house are small'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but structural errors frequently occur in complex sentences, which can cause difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher band, you need to exercise greater control over basic grammatical structures, subject-verb agreement, and article usage.

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

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