Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-06

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)

The effective way to to gave residencies in large cities is to build multi storeys apartment blocks, that is a controversial issue. In this essay I will explain why I strongly support this point of view with exapmles and also draw a conclusion.

The primary reason for my opinion is, if multi storey apartmenats are built, there must be enough space for other activities. For instance, in urban areas, there is not much space to build single storey houses as well as provide other facilities incuding play grounds, cinemas, schools, and offices etc. So its mendatory to build multi storey blocks to retain space for other sort of activities.

Probing ahead, one of the main underlying reason stems from the fact is that, tall blocks building would save them from excession of climatic change. As, excessive heat would not effect them too much, as the direct sunlight would not reach their roofs, so that they will remain relatively cool as to single houses.

On the other hand if we see the drawbacks of building residencies in tall apartments, it would create difficulty for older people. As they would not be able to go outside by stairs, but as well as young people it will be a sort of exercise for them.

All things consider, it is beneficial to build tall apartments especially in urban centres so that there wpuld be enough space fot other activities, as well as, it would keep them safe from direct sunlight in summer, and from cold wind in winters.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by expressing a clear position supporting tall apartment blocks, providing reasons such as saving space for other community facilities and protection from climate factors. However, the ideas remain somewhat limited and under-developed. For instance, the point regarding climate change mentions that direct sunlight would not reach roofs, but this explanation is abrupt and lacks sufficient extension or specific examples. Similarly, the counterargument concerning older people is touched upon briefly without a fully realised exploration of urban design solutions. To progress to a higher band, the writer needs to present fully developed main ideas supported by well-elaborated explanations and more thoroughly explored examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a recognisable overall structure, with an introduction, distinct body paragraphs, and a conclusion, showing some organisation of ideas. Paragraphing is attempted, and transition signals such as 'The primary reason' and 'On the other hand' are used to frame the arguments. Nevertheless, the progression of ideas lacks clear overall flow, and cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or inaccurate, such as 'Probing ahead' or 'All things consider'. Additionally, referencing can be unclear, as seen in the final paragraph with pronouns like 'them' referencing apartments and cities interchangeably. To achieve a higher level, the writer should ensure smoother transitions between sentences and more precise use of cohesive markers to guide the reader seamlessly through the argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey basic arguments about urban housing. There are noticeable lexical errors and inappropriate word choices throughout the text, such as 'multi storeys', 'apartmenats', 'incuding', 'mendatory', 'excession', and 'fot'. Spelling mistakes and inaccurate word forms, like 'exapmles' and 'apartmenats', occur frequently and occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader. The range of vocabulary is restricted to simple terms with repeated use of basic words like 'space', 'build', and 'activities'. To move up, the student needs to expand their lexical repertoire, demonstrate control over less common vocabulary and collocations, and eliminate basic spelling and word-form errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing relies on a very limited range of sentence structures, and attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty. There are persistent errors in grammar and punctuation, including subject-verb agreement issues and awkward phrasings, such as 'The effective way to to gave residencies' and 'tall blocks building would save them from excession of climatic change'. Punctuation errors are also present, particularly comma splices in compound and complex sentences like '...tall apartment blocks, that is a controversial issue.' These frequent errors can cause difficulty for the reader. To reach the next band, the writer must demonstrate better control over basic grammatical structures, produce a greater variety of error-free complex sentences, and improve accuracy in verb forms and prepositions.

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

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