Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-08
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 most appropriate approach to facilitate citizens with enough homes to accomodate in large cities is to build high apartment blocks. I agree with this point of view that to tackle over population in dense cities tall apartmental buildings is a suitable way.
Huge residential blocks are sufficient enough to accomodate a large population. If families live in separate homes
after a certain amount of time city will not be left with sufficient space to provide accomodation to other people. This will definitely lead to housing crisis and tremendous increase in rental and property prices. With the passage of time, migration from rural to urban areas is getting a significant momentum. If people still prefer to reside in large separate homes then this will contribute towards rise in homeless people. With tall apartmental buildings, significant number of people can be accomodated in a relatively small area as compared to houses.
Cities with huge apartmental blocks have sufficient space left for other purposes like health, recreational and other . Residents will have convenient access to facilities like reaching a market for grocery. People dont have to travel a lot to reach hospital in time of need and have easy access to recreational activities. For instance, Hong Kong was facing challenges with over population so government took initiative to shift residental practices from owing houses towards residental apartments.
To conclude, tall apartmental blocks should be constructed to provide housing facilities to residents. Government ought to take necessary initiative so housing crisis can be tackled in an appealing way.
homeless people
accomodate many people
lower rental prices
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
Your position is clear: you agree that tall apartment blocks are an appropriate way to address housing pressure in large cities. You give relevant reasons, including using less land per resident and leaving space for services, and the Hong Kong example helps illustrate your point. This covers the task, but some ideas are more fully explained than others. For example, you predict that separate homes will cause higher prices and homelessness, but do not explain the link in detail or provide supporting evidence. The point about convenient access to markets, hospitals and recreation is also listed rather than developed. To strengthen the response, explain how each benefit follows from high-density housing and qualify broad claims with a specific example.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs with separate supporting points, and a conclusion. The progression from housing capacity to access to services is generally easy to follow, and phrases such as “With the passage of time” and “For instance” help signal relationships. However, connections between some claims are abrupt, and the repeated use of “If” and “With” makes the development feel somewhat mechanical. The sentence about separate homes leading to a housing crisis would benefit from a clearer explanation linking land use, supply and prices. Also, “other purposes like health, recreational and other” is incomplete and interrupts the flow. Use clearer referencing and develop each paragraph around one fully explained main idea.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use a reasonable range of topic vocabulary, including “housing crisis,” “migration,” “recreational activities” and “rental and property prices.” These choices make the subject clear, and some less common terms show an effort to express ideas precisely. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “apartmental buildings,” “facilitate citizens with enough homes,” and “getting a significant momentum.” Spelling errors in “accomodate” and “residental” also reduce accuracy. The repeated use of “significant” and “sufficient” limits variety. Aim for natural collocations such as “provide housing,” “accommodate residents” and “gain momentum,” and check spelling carefully. More precise vocabulary would make your argument sound clearer and more fluent.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures such as “If families live in separate homes…” and a relative clause in “facilities like reaching a market for grocery.” Most of the meaning remains understandable, but some grammatical errors and awkward constructions affect clarity. For example, “If families live in separate homes after a certain amount of time city will not be left…” needs clearer clause boundaries and more natural sentence structure. “People dont have to travel” is missing an apostrophe, while “other purposes like health, recreational and other” is grammatically incomplete. Review articles, plural forms and punctuation, and make sure each sentence has a complete, parallel structure. Greater control of these patterns would make your complex sentences more effective.
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