Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)

Disagree

. risk of falling and earthquake destruction

The ideal solution for the housing problem in big cities is to construct high rise buildings. I completely disagree with this perspective because it can be dangerous many people does not prefer living in top floors.

Living in tall buildings always brings a risk for people. It always keep them alerted for any event or destruction, whether it is from earthquakes or heavy raining. The high views makes the families with childrens not feel safe.

Another reason why people does not prefer the top floors is because of the health and different fears, many people are afraid of heights or have a phobia of being in confined places like lifts.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

Your position is clear: you disagree with high-rise housing, and you give two relevant concerns—safety during disasters and discomfort with heights or lifts. However, the response addresses the task only minimally. The reasons are asserted rather than explained or supported with examples, and it does not consider why tall apartment blocks might provide homes efficiently or explain what alternative would work better. The opening fragment, “Disagree. risk of falling and earthquake destruction,” also does not develop the argument. The response is substantially below the required 250 words, which limits how fully you can address the question. To strengthen this, explain each reason with a specific example and develop your position across a complete essay, including a conclusion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic structure: an introduction states your position, followed by two paragraphs presenting reasons. The ideas are generally relevant and the sequence from general safety concerns to personal discomfort is understandable. However, the opening fragment, “Disagree. risk of falling and earthquake destruction,” is disconnected from the essay, and the response ends without a concluding paragraph. Connections between claims are also limited; for example, the safety paragraph moves from earthquakes and heavy rain to children’s feelings without explaining the relationship. Use clear topic sentences, then explain and illustrate each point before moving on. A brief conclusion that restates your position would give the response a more complete progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough basic vocabulary to communicate the main concerns, including “high rise buildings,” “earthquakes,” “phobia,” and “confined places.” These choices are relevant, but the range is limited and some expressions are imprecise or unnatural, such as “heavy raining,” “high views,” and “keep them alerted.” The opening note also relies on basic wording rather than a developed academic expression. Aim for more precise collocations when describing risks and housing preferences, and avoid repeating general terms such as “people” and “risk.” For example, you could describe residents’ safety concerns during extreme weather and explain that some people experience anxiety in enclosed lifts. This would make your argument clearer and more appropriately academic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response uses mostly short, simple statements, with a few attempts to connect ideas using “because” and “whether.” This allows the main meaning to be understood, but the range of sentence structures is limited and errors recur. In “it can be dangerous many people does not prefer,” the clauses need clearer separation, and “many people does not prefer” has subject–verb agreement and verb-form problems. “It always keep them alerted” and “The high views makes” also contain agreement errors; “families with childrens” has an incorrect plural form. Practise building accurate complex sentences and checking agreement, plurals, and punctuation. For instance, separate the safety claim from the preference claim, then support each with a complete sentence.

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

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