Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

In recent years, rapidly growing urban populations have made housing shortages one of the most prevalent issues around the world. Many individuals consider that building tall apartment blocks can tackle this problem. Although building tall infrastructure can lead to lack of recreational spaces and cause overcrowding, from my perspective, this strategy can provide enough homes for citizens.

To begin with, the primary reason why I agree with this statement is that land in large cities is very limited and expensive. To illustrate this in cities such as Hong Kong a large number of individuals live. Providing housing spaces for all of them is a challenging process for the government and they have constructed tall apartment buildings. Ultimately, I believe that this kind of infrastructure gives people the opportunity to live in the same area, which does not require large spaces.

On the other hand, building tall infrastructure gives the governments the ability to construct the city more efficiently. To reinforce my idea, it is much easier to provide basic services like water, electricity and public transport in the same area. If cities spread on a large scale, they require building new roads and a long transport lines, which costs a lot of money and time. As a result building tall apartment blocks assists in managing time and money, which can be utilized to solve other vital problems and providing essential spaces.

To conclude, constructing tall apartment blocks is the best way to solve the housing shortage in big cities. It effectively saves limited land, time and costs and allows cities to use their infrastructure more efficiently.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by presenting a clear position on the issue of building tall apartment blocks, supporting it with relevant ideas throughout. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others. For instance, the paragraph acknowledging the downsides such as a lack of recreational spaces and overcrowding is somewhat rushed and lacks sufficient elaboration compared to the supporting arguments for the main position. The main ideas regarding land scarcity and infrastructure efficiency are presented well and supported with examples like Hong Kong, yet the extension of these ideas sometimes remains at a general level rather than being thoroughly explored. To reach a higher standard, every supporting point and counterargument needs equal depth of extension and clearer illustration.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response demonstrates a clear overall arrangement with a logical progression of ideas from introduction to conclusion, fully satisfying the requirements of the lower band while showing elements of the higher level. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with distinct paragraphs dedicated to the introduction, the main supporting argument, the secondary efficiency argument, and the conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'On the other hand', and 'To conclude' are employed to guide the reader through the text, although referencing and transitions can occasionally feel slightly mechanical. To achieve the next level, the connections between sentences and paragraphs could be made even smoother and more natural, avoiding formulaic transitional phrases in favour of more fluid semantic links.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The writer uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'prevalent', 'infrastructure', and 'efficiently'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and phrasing throughout the text, such as 'consider that' instead of 'consider whether' or 'believe that', 'lack of recreational spaces' missing a determiner, and awkward phrasing like 'construct the city more efficiently'. Spelling is generally accurate, and vocabulary errors do not impede communication. To move to a higher band, the student should aim to use a wider range of sophisticated lexical items with greater precision and natural collocation, while ensuring strict accuracy when employing less common vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writing exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over basic structures and attempting more intricate patterns, such as conditional clauses in 'If cities spread on a large scale, they require building new roads...'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation throughout the response, including missing articles ('in cities such as Hong Kong a large number of individuals live'), subject-verb agreement or parallel structure issues in lists ('managing time and money, which can be utilized to solve other vital problems and providing essential spaces'), and minor preposition slips. Nevertheless, these errors rarely impede communication and do not obscure the meaning. To reach the next band, the writer needs to increase the frequency of error-free complex sentences and refine punctuation and article usage.

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

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