Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-03

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)

It is thought that building more skyscrapers is the best method to provide enough accommodations. In my view, this way will contribute a lot to the housing shortage, but the best way to relieve the stress caused by overpopulation is to encourage people to migrate to somewhere else, making the population distribution more balanced.

First and foremost, we have to clearly realize the reason why many people in large cities do not even have enough places to stay. While the world is facing overpopulated planet, there are still workers who starve for living in cities. So, the foundamental way to cope with this phenomenon is to carry out some policies to entice them to go back where they belong. For instance, goveronments can invest more resources in those small towns and introduce policies that incentivize people who go back and build their hometown. As a result, not only will the problem taking place in big cities be solved but those remote areas will alse be developed.

It is not to say that constructing more tall apartment blocks is not helpful. They can still accommodate people who tend to travel around or who want to carve out a career for themselves in first-tier cities. However, as compared to rearranging the resources and people, it is less sustainable and more costly.

In conclusion, despite the fact that more apartment buildings can accommodate more people, we still need to be more far-sighted and to find other ways to deal with the problem. Only by distributing the population in a better way can we address the core issue.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by presenting a clear position on whether tall apartment blocks are the best solution to housing shortages, arguing instead for population decentralisation. The main ideas are generally relevant, but the development is uneven. While the alternative solution of encouraging migration to small towns is explained, the initial points lack sufficient supporting detail and lean towards over-generalisation, such as stating that workers 'starve for living in cities'. To move to a higher level, the writer needs to more fully develop their arguments with more precise examples and deeper analysis of the prompt's core premise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response demonstrates a clear overall progression and coherent arrangement of ideas, meeting the requirements of the lower level while showing some features of the next. Paragraphing is used logically, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct aspect of the argument. Cohesive devices such as 'First and foremost', 'For instance', and 'However' are employed to connect ideas, though some referencing is occasionally mechanical or slightly repetitive, such as the transition into the counterargument. To fully secure a higher band, the student should ensure smoother transitions between sentences and more varied cohesive referencing throughout the essay.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying the writer's meaning. The student attempts less common lexical items, such as 'overpopulation', 'decentralisation principles', and 'first-tier cities', but these attempts are occasionally marred by slight inaccuracies in word choice and spelling, such as 'accommodations' as a countable noun, 'foundamental', and 'goveronments'. These errors do not impede communication, but they reflect a limited precision and flexibility in lexical control. To achieve a higher score, the student needs to demonstrate a more precise grasp of word collocation, spelling accuracy, and a wider range of sophisticated vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over structures such as conditional and concessive clauses, seen in sentences like 'While the world is facing an overpopulated planet...'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, including article omission and preposition usage inside patterns, such as 'people who go back and build their hometown' instead of 'build up', but these errors rarely impede communication. The presence of these recurrent minor errors places the grammar firmly at this level. To reach the next band, the student must produce a higher proportion of error-free complex sentences and refine punctuation control.

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

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