Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

over recent years, the best way to provide enough in biggest cities is to build tall apartment block has become a hotly debated issue in society. This matter is particularly significant due to its impact increase housing demand, influencing both individulas and communities. Some people believe that the best wayto provide enough homes is to bulid apartments block.I agree with this opinion high-rise builiding can save land and provide accommodation for many people.

One important reason for builiding tall apartments is that cities have limited land.If houses are built separately, they require a large amount of space.In contrace, apartment blocks can accommodate hunderds of peopler in a relatively small area.

For example, in lar4ge3 cities such as lahore and karachi, many familiees can live in one high-rise builiding. This allows the remaining land to be used for schools, hospitals, parks, and other facilities.

Another advantage is that apartment builidings can reduce travelling distances. They can be constructed near workplaces, shopping center and public transport. therefore, peopler can spend less time travelliung to work and school

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the main prompt by expressing a clear position regarding tall apartment blocks, but ideas are limited and under-developed. For instance, the benefit of saving land is introduced with examples like Lahore and Karachi, but the support lacks depth and fails to fully explore the broader socioeconomic implications. Furthermore, the response suffers from a critical length issue: it contains only 175 words, falling well short of the 250-word minimum requirement. This restricted length directly limits the student's ability to develop their arguments fully, resulting in a partial treatment of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a recognizable attempt to group ideas into paragraphs, such as separating the discussion on land usage from the point about travelling distances. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and referencing is not always clear. Simple cohesive devices like 'For example' and 'Another advantage' are used, but transitions between sentences can feel abrupt, and paragraphing is underdeveloped due to the short overall length of the text. To move to a higher band, the writer needs to ensure smoother logical progression and more natural transitions between ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to convey basic ideas about housing and cities, featuring words like 'accommodation', 'workplaces', and 'facilities'. However, there are noticeable errors in word form, spelling, and word choice that cause some difficulty for the reader. Examples include typing errors and unnatural phrasing such as 'bulidings', 'peopler', 'travelliung', and the phrase 'increase housing demand' instead of 'increasing housing demand'. To achieve a higher band, the student must expand their lexical range and eliminate frequent spelling and word-formation errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response relies on a very limited range of sentence structures, mostly consisting of simple sentences and flawed attempts at complex clauses. There are frequent errors in grammar, punctuation, and article usage throughout the text, such as missing articles ('build tall apartment block', 'provide enough in biggest cities'), capitalization errors ('I', 'therefore, peopler'), and subject-verb agreement issues. These frequent errors draw attention and occasionally impede communication, placing the grammatical control firmly at this level. To improve, the student needs to master basic sentence construction, punctuation rules, and reliable use of complex structures.

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

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