Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

With the increasing prevalence of urbanization people are moving towards cities for better opportunities and income. As more people move to large cities it rise the concerns of accommodation and over population which takes us to the solution of building skyscrapers. I strongly agree with this idea because it helps to accommodate large population in a small area.

Nowadays, Companies are focused on urban areas due to its modern infrastructure and greater connectivity. However which leads to an issue of urbanization, as many people move from rural areas to urban areas for better growth and opportunities. Moreover, it also rise many problems like limited resources and land area. In many cities like Mumbai, New York and Shanghai have a high cost of living. For instance, in Mumbai, the value of 1 acre is more than 1 crore and similarly for New York and Shanghai.

Skyscrapers are the best solutions, as it curbs many problems like housing and high cost of living. Hence, we can see a significant shift towards tall buildings as it is cheaper and convenient for average income person and only rich people can afford own land. Vertical buildings can also accommodate numerous family in small span of area. For example in Mumbai there are around 35 skyscrapers which holds hundreds of family.

In my opinion, tall buildings are the best solutions of modern issue like urbanization as it is best way for a ordinary person to accommodate their family and gain better opportunity.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by expressing a clear position in favor of building tall apartment blocks to solve urban housing issues. However, the ideas are somewhat limited and under-developed, relying on repetitive arguments rather than deep exploration. For instance, the mention of cities like Mumbai and New York lacks full extension to substantiate the core argument thoroughly. Additionally, it must be noted that the length requirement is not met, as the response falls short of the minimum word count of 250 words by a few words. To reach a higher level, the writer should ensure the minimum word count is achieved and expand each supporting idea with more detailed explanations, concrete examples, and clearer implications regarding urban planning.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic logical flow and some organization present, starting with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing causes and solutions, and a brief conclusion. However, the overall progression is somewhat disjointed, and the relationships between ideas are not always clear. Cohesive devices are sometimes inaccurate or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'However' and 'Moreover' where they do not naturally connect the clauses. Paragraphing is attempted, but internal cohesion within paragraphs can be mechanical. To improve coherence and cohesion, the writer should use a wider variety of transitional markers more naturally and ensure that each paragraph transitions smoothly into the next, establishing a clear and logical progression of arguments from start to finish.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses a minimally adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'urbanization', 'infrastructure', and 'skyscrapers'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and word form that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. For instance, phrases like 'it rise the concerns' and 'it also rise many problems' misuse the verb form, and expressions like 'ordinary person to accommodate their family' lack precise collocation. There are also slight lexical inaccuracies regarding economic values. To achieve a higher score, the writer needs to expand their lexical repertoire with less common items, use them with greater precision regarding word forms and collocations, and eliminate recurrent word choice errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text demonstrates a limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences alongside a few attempts at complex forms. Unfortunately, these attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty, leading to frequent errors in grammar, subject-verb agreement, and articles that can cause difficulty for the reader. Examples include 'As more people move to large cities it rise the concerns', missing articles before singular countable nouns like 'average income person', and awkward punctuation. To move to a higher band, the writer must incorporate a wider variety of complex sentence structures with greater accuracy, ensuring that basic agreements, verb tenses, and grammatical patterns are controlled reliably throughout the response.

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

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