Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-10

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)

Some people believe that construction of tall apartment blocks is the best approach to provide sufficient housing in large cities. Although building high-rise apartments accomodate many people in a limited space, I disagree`that they are the best solution.

Urban expansion is the best way to provide enough homes for living. It allows the growth of cities into surrounding areas. For instance, developers can build rows of seperate houses close together each family has its own home.This allows more houses to be built on the same amount of land.

Conversion of unused buildings is an effective way to build new homes. For instance,old offices, warehouses and other vacant buildings can sometime be converted into individual homes, depending on their structure and local regulations. It helps to increase the hosing supply without constructing new apartment blocks.

However, living in high above ground level may limit residents' access to private outdoor spaces, such as gardens, which some people value for relaxation. For instance, children living in high-rise buildings may have fewer opportunities to play outdoors if there are no nearby parks or safe play areas.

Furthermore, high maintainance costs is one of the biggest disadvantage of building apartments. Elevators, water pumps, fire safety systems, and shared facilities require regular maintainace. For instance, if elevators break down, elderly residents and people with disabilities may find it difficult to reach their apartments.

In conclusion, although tall apartment blocks can provide housing for a large number of people, they may also cause overcrowding and put pressure on public facilities. Therefore, I believe that developing affordable houses and converting unused buildings into homes are practical alternatives, provided sufficient land is available.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear from the introduction: you acknowledge that high-rise blocks house many people but disagree that they are the best solution. You address the question with relevant alternatives—urban expansion and converting vacant buildings—and support these with examples. The discussion of outdoor space and maintenance also explains drawbacks of apartment living. This meets the task well, with ideas generally extended and supported. To make the argument more fully developed, explain more directly why your alternatives would provide enough homes in large cities, especially given your qualification that sufficient land must be available. The claim that urban expansion is “the best way” could also be reconciled more clearly with your conclusion, which presents two alternatives rather than ranking them.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for alternatives and disadvantages, and a conclusion that restates your position. Linking expressions such as “For instance,” “However,” and “Furthermore” help readers follow the progression, and each paragraph has a recognisable focus. This is coherent and mostly easy to navigate. Some connections are more mechanical than flexible, however, and the relationship between the two proposed solutions could be clearer. For example, the urban-expansion paragraph moves from growth into surrounding areas to rows of houses without explaining how this addresses the limits of available land. Use more precise referencing and transitions to show how each point supports your overall argument, and connect the conclusion more explicitly to the body paragraphs.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “high-rise apartments,” “vacant buildings,” “local regulations,” “private outdoor spaces,” and “fire safety systems.” These choices make the discussion specific and generally clear, while phrases such as “housing supply” suit the topic. However, several spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, including “accomodate,” “seperate,” “hosing supply,” and “maintainance.” Some expressions are also awkward or imprecise, such as “high above ground level” and “affordable houses” where the intended meaning appears to be affordable housing. Check spelling carefully and build more accurate collocations; this would make your vocabulary more controlled without requiring unnecessarily complex wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex structures, including a concessive opening (“Although building high-rise apartments…”) and conditional phrasing (“if there are no nearby parks”). Most ideas remain understandable, and the paragraphing gives you opportunities to vary sentence forms. Some grammatical errors persist, though. In “Although building high-rise apartments accomodate,” the subject does not agree with the verb, and “high maintainance costs is” has a plural subject with a singular verb. The sentence about developers also runs two clauses together: “close together each family has its own home.” Punctuation is inconsistent, with missing spaces after commas and an unnecessary backtick in the introduction. Review agreement and clause boundaries, then proofread punctuation to improve accuracy.

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