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)

It is often argued by some people that in big cities it is better to construct large apartments to provide homes to people. Although some might disagree because of the crowd it will cause, I completely agree as it will create more space to live. Not only because of safe environment and better living conditions, but also because of saving money.

There are multiple benefits asscociated with this topic. Firstly, it will provide safe environment in apartments. As the apartments will be in the secured area and there will be no threat of any kind. For example, in Japan they are trying to make tall apartment blocks in safe places and it will provide secure environment to people and enough homes to live. Thus, tall apartments block will be better.

Secondly, the living conditions will also be better in tall buildings. As people will have their own space to live and they will get all the necessties of life. For instance, in Korea, tall apartment blocks are increasing as they have better facilities and enough homes. Hence, tall apartment blocks will be more good.

Lastly, living cost in tall apartment will be less. As the rent of separate home is much higher than apartment blocks so it will also save your money.

To sum up, I believe that in cities tall buildings should be build to provide enough homes. As they are less in cost, has better living conditions as well as provides safer environment than other apartments or homes.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by expressing a clear position in favour of tall apartment blocks, supporting it with reasons related to safety, living conditions, and cost. However, the ideas remain somewhat limited and under-developed, which keeps the response at this level. While the writer mentions Japan and Korea as examples, these points are quite brief and lack sufficient elaboration. Some ideas, such as safety and living conditions, are touched upon generally rather than extended with specific details or clear arguments. To move to a higher band, the writer would need to fully develop all main ideas with more substantial explanations and concrete, well-elaborated examples rather than relying on brief mentions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical structure, with clear paragraphing used to separate distinct points. The essay employs basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'Lastly' to sequence ideas. However, the progression is sometimes mechanical, and referencing is not always clear, as seen in the phrase 'associciated with this topic' and repetitive sentence openings. Paragraphing is present, but the transitions between sentences and ideas could be smoother. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to use a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices without over-relying on simple enumeration, ensuring that ideas flow naturally from one to the next with clear logical progression throughout.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student displays an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully communicating everyday concepts related to housing and cities. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'asscociated', 'necessties', and 'build' instead of 'built'. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, but these attempts are occasionally imprecise, as in 'tall apartments block will be better' and 'more good'. These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score. To reach a higher band, the writer should incorporate a wider variety of precise, less common lexical items, demonstrate better collocation awareness, and eliminate spelling and word-form errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though attempts at complex structures are sometimes faulty. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, such as fragment sentences ('Not only because of safe environment and better living conditions, but also because of saving money') and issues with articles and prepositions ('in the secured area', 'less in cost'). While these errors are frequent enough to cause some occasional difficulty for the reader, communication is generally maintained. To achieve a higher band, the writer must produce a greater proportion of error-free sentences, improve control over complex sentence patterns, and ensure correct grammatical agreements and punctuation.

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

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