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)

Large cities are always a source of exclusive opportunities in terms of education, healthcare, employment and to have a better exposure of the facilities. So in order to achieve these people tend to move from smaller town or cities to larger cities to have a elite future and lifestyle which could not be achieved in samller towns.

As with each passing year, number of people who are moving towards the large citis are increasing and to cater such large number of migrations, their must be a proper living arrangements for people to easily settle down in the new place and adjust in the environment as soon as possible. One of the way for catering the living needs of these people is to build tall apartment blocks, in this way we will occupy small portion of land and can build apartments for many people, this would help us in a way that as not much land is occupied, the risk of cutting more trees to build up the housing or other sites will be decreased. Another advantage of it is that its helps build community culture more rapidly then independent homes. Despite of these benefits, we have also some drawbacks of such large buildings as maintaining different services like water supply, drainage system could be complex at first place and could also be time taking if any problem araises in the future. In addition to it, in case of any natural emergency situations, it becomes difficult to evacute such tall building in a short time span.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the topic by explaining why people move to large cities and giving reasons for building tall apartment blocks, including efficient land use and reduced pressure to clear trees. You also acknowledge drawbacks such as service maintenance and emergency evacuation. However, the question asks how far you agree, and your position is not stated clearly: the benefits are presented, but the drawbacks leave the reader unsure whether you agree overall or consider towers the best solution. Several points are also brief, especially the claims about community culture and the practical difficulties. State your degree of agreement directly, then develop and support the main reasons with a specific example or explanation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable sequence: it introduces migration to cities, discusses advantages of apartment blocks, and then turns to disadvantages. Linking expressions such as “One of the way,” “Another advantage,” “Despite of these benefits,” and “In addition to it” help signal relationships between points. However, the ideas are compressed into two long paragraphs, and the overall progression is not fully clear because there is no distinct conclusion to resolve the discussion or restate your position. Some links are also awkward or repetitive, and the first paragraph’s background does not lead directly to a clear thesis. Use separate paragraphs for the introduction, advantages, disadvantages, and conclusion, with each paragraph focused on one main idea.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “employment,” “living arrangements,” “drainage system,” and “natural emergency situations,” so the reader can follow the subject. There are also attempts at less common expressions, such as “community culture” and “cater the living needs,” but some combinations are inaccurate or unnatural. Spelling errors such as “samller,” “citis,” “araises,” and “evacute” are noticeable, while phrases like “elite future” and “better exposure of the facilities” do not express the intended meaning precisely. These choices make the vocabulary less controlled than the ideas require. Build accuracy by learning common collocations for housing and urban planning, and proofread spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional structure in “if any problem arises in the future” and a contrast introduced by “Despite…”. However, several long sentences are difficult to control, and errors in agreement, articles, and sentence construction recur. For example, “number of people … are increasing” needs a singular subject, while “One of the way” requires a plural noun after “one of.” The opening sentence also joins ideas awkwardly, and the sentence beginning “As with each passing year” runs on through several clauses. Break long sentences into clearer units, check subject–verb agreement and article use, and practise complex structures before combining several points.

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