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)

The solution to provide enough space in large cities is to increase the height of apartments so that we can accomodate more but few may argue that it would be bit risky and expensive. In my view its a good idea to scale vertically.

Expanding the city vertically is a sustainable approach because going horizontally would require clearing up the forest area where different habitats live and they will lost there homes and additionally cutting trees is also harmful for the earth ecosystem. Eventually it will lead to climate and environmental issues like pollution, drought, cost life of other organisms and many more so it would be best to increase the apartment blocks which easily provide homes.

The cost and risk of making skycraper is huge as it needs lot of building materials like sand, bricks, manpower and cement etc. Basically its not economically ideal there are plenty of examples in countries like china, finland and netherland where big construction companies have gone bank corrupt and still the project was unfinished. However i still believe its ideal to construct tall apartments with right mind, execution and calculation of cost.

Its clearly evident constructing huge appartments or skycraper is best way to accomodate growing population and the benefits outweighs the cons because in my personal opinion we should not make any tradeoff with the environment and need to always move towards sustainable approaches. Moreover problem of cost can always be handled with proper planning of cities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you support building upwards, while acknowledging that skyscrapers can be costly and risky. You give relevant reasons, especially the contrast between vertical development and clearing land, and you attempt to support the cost concern with examples of unfinished projects. However, the response addresses the issue only partially because several points are asserted rather than explained. For example, the environmental paragraph lists pollution and drought without showing how these follow from horizontal expansion, and the country examples are not specific enough to substantiate the claim. The conclusion repeats your view but adds little development. The response is also five words below the required minimum. Develop each main reason with a clearer explanation or a concrete example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion, with the main position maintained throughout. Paragraphing generally separates the environmental argument from the cost argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow because several ideas are joined in long sentences, and links can feel mechanical. For instance, “Eventually” introduces consequences without a clear connection to each preceding point, while “However” shifts back to your position but does not fully resolve the cost concern. The final paragraph repeats earlier claims rather than synthesising them. Use clearer topic sentences, divide complex points into shorter units, and make the relationship between each claim and its supporting explanation explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “sustainable approach,” “habitats,” “ecosystem,” “construction,” and “population,” which helps communicate the central argument. There are also attempts at more specific language, such as “move towards sustainable approaches.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or imprecise, sometimes making the meaning less clear. Examples include “cost life of other organisms,” “gone bank corrupt,” and “with right mind.” Spelling errors such as “accomodate,” “skycraper,” and “appartments” are noticeable. Aim for more precise phrases and check spelling carefully; for example, explain environmental effects using established expressions such as “damage ecosystems” or “loss of biodiversity.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a reason clause beginning “because” and a contrast introduced by “However.” Nevertheless, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences awkward or difficult to process. For example, “they will lost there homes” has problems with verb form and pronoun use, while “The cost and risk … is huge as it needs lot of building materials” has agreement and article errors. Several sentences also run together without effective punctuation, particularly the sentence beginning “Basically its not economically ideal.” Use a wider range of controlled sentence patterns, check subject–verb agreement and articles, and separate independent clauses with appropriate punctuation.

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