Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-09

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)

Nowadays, there is a view that constructing tall apartment buildings is the best idea to nmakeup shortage of homes. I tend to agree with this opinion and in this essay, I will support my opinion with examples.

First of all, in urban areas usually do not have enough of homes and poor people have to spend cold nights on footpaths or huts. Adding more stories to existing homes would be the easiest idea to cope up with this shortage. For instance, when people move to larger cities for job opportunities, they can get home apartment with less effort than purchasing a new home. Therefore, this idea can provide homes to migrants and homeless.

Probing ahead, one of the underlying reasons why I agree with this opinion stems from the fact that construction of apartment on existing buildings can leave some space to provide recreational places for public. This can benefit a nation in long run as people will spend time in parks and gardens which in turn can improve thier health. For example, if people have a park nearby, they would likely to spend some time there daily and will wnjoy mental piece. Thus, building tall apartments can facilitate having more natural places.

However, tall buildings could create a huge triuble for olders who are not able to walk on stairs. It can cause pain in their joints and they will suffer different aches.That's why huge building apartments could be frustating for older people.

In conclusion, although tall buildings are not helpful for olders. However, with elevator and proper facilities, constructing huge apartment blocks can provide homes to migrants and homeless. Besides that, it can be beneficial for adding more recreational places.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the introduction: you tend to agree that tall apartment buildings can help address housing shortages. You give relevant reasons, including accommodating people moving to cities and creating room for recreational areas, and you acknowledge a drawback for older residents before suggesting elevators. However, the central claim that tall blocks are the best way to provide homes is not fully examined. The point about parks is only loosely connected to housing provision, and the concern about older people is brief and not balanced against the benefits. Develop each reason with clearer explanation and a specific example, and make the conclusion directly weigh the advantages against the limitation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, supporting paragraphs, a counterpoint and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “First of all,” “For instance” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the main stages. However, some links are mechanical or do not accurately express the relationship between ideas: “Probing ahead” is an awkward transition, while “Thus” introduces a claim about natural places that does not clearly follow from the housing argument. The final paragraph also uses “although” and “However” together, making the contrast confusing. Improve progression by linking each paragraph directly to the question and using clearer references between claims and examples.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “apartment buildings,” “shortage of homes,” “migrants” and “recreational places.” There are also attempts at less common expressions, such as “underlying reasons” and “facilitate,” but several choices are inaccurate or unnatural and sometimes make the meaning harder to understand. Examples include “cope up with this shortage,” “home apartment,” “huge triuble,” and “mental piece.” Spelling errors such as “thier,” “wnjoy” and “frustating” further reduce precision. Aim for accurate, natural collocations and check spelling carefully; a smaller set of well-controlled expressions will communicate your ideas more effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a conditional sentence beginning “if people have a park nearby” and a concession in the conclusion. Some sentences communicate their main point clearly, but errors in sentence structure, verb forms, articles and punctuation remain. For example, “in urban areas usually do not have enough of homes” lacks a clear subject, and “they would likely to spend” uses an incorrect verb pattern. The conclusion’s “although … However” construction is also faulty, and there is missing spacing after “aches.” Work on complete clauses, verb patterns such as “would likely spend,” and accurate punctuation. These improvements would make your varied sentence attempts more controlled.

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