Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The demand of houses is increasing day by day in big cities as more people are moving to these cities. I totally agree with the idea of building tall apartments as these can provide enough houses that the people from other cities can easily get residence.

The main advantage of constructing tall buildings is that more people can reside in less space. Either a single family can live in a house or two families can reside in the same building if the owner rents out one portion. However, tall apartments provide at least ten times more space to live in for people. This approach of building houses is also beneficial as the land is limited. For example, many big cities such as New York and Sydney build apartments instead of houses and this is a normal way of housing in developed countries.

Furthermore, tall buildings are also good for our environment. They take less space and as a result more trees are saved from cutting down for building homes. These buildings indirectly become a source of healthy environment. Large cities have more automobiles that produce pollution. Saving trees by building apartments also reduces pollution. For instance, India is also following vertical housing pattern to save trees and environment in Mumbai after facing shortage of homes and environmental issues.

In conclusion, I believe this is the best way to construct houses in big cities. Big cities usually have more population and this way more people can find residence. Moreover, environment can also be protected.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the introduction (“I totally agree”) and remains consistent in the conclusion. You give relevant reasons—using less land to house more people and potentially preserving trees—and include examples such as New York, Sydney and Mumbai. This covers the task and shows some development, but the support is uneven: the claim that apartments provide “at least ten times more space” is unclear, and the link between saving trees and reducing pollution is asserted rather than explained. The response also focuses almost entirely on advantages, without considering any limitation or explaining why tall blocks are the best approach compared with alternatives. Develop the examples and clarify the reasoning to make the argument more fully supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present separate reasons, and the conclusion restates your position. Progression is easy to follow, and signposts such as “Furthermore,” “For example” and “In conclusion” help guide the reader. The main ideas are grouped appropriately, with housing capacity discussed before environmental effects. Some connections within the paragraphs could be more precise, however. For instance, the move from saving trees to reducing pollution is not fully explained, and “However” in the first body paragraph does not clearly signal a contrast. Use linking expressions that show the exact relationship between ideas, and make references between claims and examples more explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “demand,” “limited,” “pollution,” “shortage” and “vertical housing pattern,” so the main points are understandable. However, the range is limited by repeated general words such as “buildings,” “houses,” “people” and “environment,” and several phrases are not natural or precise. “The demand of houses” and “get residence” are awkward collocations, while “provide at least ten times more space to live in” does not clearly express the intended comparison. Aim for more accurate housing-related collocations and vary repeated terms with context-appropriate alternatives. Greater precision in word choice would make your argument sound more fluent and academic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses such as “as more people are moving to these cities” and “if the owner rents out one portion.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, and the paragraph structure supports readability. Some grammatical errors remain. For example, “Either a single family can live in a house or two families can reside in the same building” uses an awkward either/or construction, and “more people can find residence” has an unnatural grammatical pattern. In “Large cities have more automobiles that produce pollution,” the relative clause could also be made clearer. Practise constructing comparisons and parallel alternatives, and check articles and sentence patterns when revising.

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