Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

In the contemporary world, population density has become rapidly increasing while the amount of land is decreasing for a suitable habitat. People often moved from countryside and place their livelihood in urban sites for their personal growth. Therefore, there is no suitable place for settling houses in large cities. Personally, I agree with that statement to construct higher apartment blocks in urban sites to get proper homes.

The number of individuals rely on the professional and personal work at the urban area. For instance, many of them establish their family there for getting a better life and education for their childrens. Housing is one of the major factor to them for settling in the town. Large cities contain crowded places everywhere for commercial zones. Many people cannot afford a single house for their livelihood. Thus having an appartment could mitigate their establishment at the urban sites.

On the other hand, tall buildings creates the city life more dense and dark environment. The surroundings of living area more compacted than a single one. These types of habitat may be burden for older people for uplifting though having lift facilities in the apartment. However, tall apartment has been required to provide enough houses for settling life at large towns that can repel the desire of an individual.

Overall, it should be required proper planning for providing sufficient homes in urban area through large building blocks through ideal landscaping or either decentralized the cities. I believed that providing these blocks can be a good solution for providing sufficient homes in urban regions.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you agree that tall apartment blocks can help provide homes in large cities, and you give relevant reasons, including limited space, urban employment and education, and the difficulty of affording a detached house. You also acknowledge a drawback—dense, dark surroundings and possible difficulties for older residents—before reaffirming your view. This addresses the main parts of the question. However, several points are asserted rather than explained: for example, the link between city jobs and the need for high-rise housing could be developed with a specific example, and the disadvantages are not weighed against the benefits in much detail. The final reference to decentralising cities introduces an alternative without explaining how it fits your position. Develop and support these ideas more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph supporting apartment blocks, a paragraph considering disadvantages, and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “Therefore,” “For instance,” “On the other hand,” and “Overall” help signal the direction of the argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear. The opening moves from population growth to migration and then to a lack of suitable places without making each connection explicit. In the second body paragraph, the relationship between older residents’ needs and the claim that tall buildings are required is also difficult to follow. Some references, such as “these types of habitat,” are not fully clear. Use topic sentences and connect each supporting point explicitly to your main argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “population density,” “commercial zones,” “landscaping,” and “decentralized,” and you attempt to express ideas beyond basic everyday language. This gives you enough vocabulary to discuss housing and urban growth. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the intended meaning less clear: “suitable habitat” for human housing, “place their livelihood,” “mitigate their establishment,” and “repel the desire” are examples. There are also spelling and word-form slips, such as “appartment” and “childrens.” Aim for precise, natural combinations such as “settle in cities,” “ease housing shortages,” and “meet residents’ needs.” Check spelling and use a dictionary to learn vocabulary in phrases, not as isolated words.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a reason clause in “for getting a better life and education” and a contrast introduced by “On the other hand.” The main ideas are generally understandable, but errors in agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence construction recur. For example, “The number of individuals rely” needs a singular verb, while “tall buildings creates” needs a plural verb. In “People often moved from countryside and place their livelihood,” the verb forms do not match, and the sentence structure is difficult to control. Article and plural errors also appear in “a single house” and “their childrens.” Practise building accurate sentences with one main clause and a clearly connected supporting clause, then check subject–verb agreement and verb consistency.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.