Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-01

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 6.0)

Nowadays, there are severe housing shortage in many major cities. Some people argue that the most effective solution is construct high-rise apartment buildings. I strongly agree with this view with some extent I will discuss this trend in upcoming paragraph and provide a logical conclusion.

To start with, there are many reasons associated with it. The first and foremost point is efficient use of limited land. To explain this, in large cities such as Mumbai, London and Tokyo, are extremely scarce and expensive. Building vertically allows a large number of families to be housed on a small footprint. For example, a single 20-storey building can accommodate 80 to 100 families, whereas the same land would only fit 5 or 6 detached houses. This high density also makes it more economical for the government to provide infrastructure such as water, electricity, public transport and internet.

Moving further, there are some drawbacks to living in high-rise apartments. Some residents complain about lack of privacy, noise, and limited outdoor space for children. High buildings can also create a sense of isolation if they are poorly designed, and maintenance costs can be high. However, these problems are related to poor planning rather than the concept itself. Further, with thoughtful design, including parks, playgrounds, balconies and community centres within the complex, high-rise living can be comfortable and sociable. Cities like Singapore have demonstrated this sucessfully, where the majority of the population lives in well-managed tall housing apartment.

In conclusion, although living in hih-rise apartment building can lead to use of limited land but also create impact on privacy and maintenance costs. However, thoughful design, parks, balconies and community centre can proivde comfort in high-rise building.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task and presents a clear position throughout, which fully meets the criteria for the band below. For instance, the writer clearly states, 'I strongly agree with this view', and maintains this stance by discussing both the efficiency of land use and the potential drawbacks of high-rise living. Ideas are generally relevant, covering infrastructure benefits and social design aspects, as seen in the mention of cities like Singapore. However, the response pushes slightly into the next band by offering well-extended arguments with concrete examples, such as comparing a 20-storey building to detached houses. To fully secure a higher band, all parts of the prompt would need deeper and more consistent development across every paragraph, avoiding slight generalisations and ensuring that the counter-arguments are weighed more thoroughly against the central thesis rather than being summarized briefly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear central topic, making it easy to follow the writer's line of thought. Paragraphing is used appropriately to divide the introduction, main points, and conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed to signal transitions, such as 'To start with', 'Moving further', and 'In conclusion'. However, cohesion can sometimes feel slightly mechanical or formulaic, and referencing is not always completely smooth, as seen in the abrupt transition into the conclusion. Additionally, the opening paragraph contains a slightly awkward link with 'with some extent I will discuss this trend'. To reach a higher level, the response would need to utilize a wider variety of cohesive devices more flexibly and ensure that inter-sentence relationships are managed with greater subtlety and seamless progression throughout.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The writer uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'infrastructure', 'detrimental', 'isolation', and 'sociable'. There are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors that occasionally surface, such as 'shortage' instead of 'shortages', 'construct' instead of 'constructing', 'sucessfully' instead of 'successfully', and 'thougtful' instead of 'thoughtful'. While these inaccuracies do not impede overall communication, they prevent the text from achieving a higher rating. To move towards a stronger lexical band, the writer needs to demonstrate a more flexible and precise command of less common lexical items, paying closer attention to word formation, collocation, and accurate spelling across the entire essay.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an attempt to use varied structures such as conditional and relative clauses. There are several grammar and punctuation errors present, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'there are severe housing shortage', preposition errors such as 'with some extent', and missing articles or pluralisation slips. Despite these errors, they rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to grasp the core message. To achieve a higher level of grammatical performance, the writer must produce a greater proportion of error-free sentences when attempting complex structures and maintain tighter control over basic grammatical agreements, articles, and prepositional patterns throughout the essay.

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

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