Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-13

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)

It is widely acknowledged that providing enough homes in large cities has become an increasingly contantinuous issue in this society.While some proponents assert that building tall appartments are the best way to solve the housing shortage. I firmly believe that although high rise builidings are the best way but this is not only the solution there are aslo some other suitable options.This essay will critically examined the issue before reaching the balanced onclusion.

To commence with one compeliing justification for my opinion is that high rise buildings leads to overcrowding and reduced the quality of life.

This is largely attributes to the fact that tall appartments often lack of greenery,noise, create stress, and social problems for families and childrens. As a result, it is reasonable to infer that people living in these high rise buildings may experience difficulties and low standard of life which ultimately foster negative outcomes.

Another important consideration is that there are many other alternative to reduced the housing shortage in society. From a broader perspective, this may give rise to significant development in urban planning and housing policy. A pertinent example is developing new towns in the outskirts of cities like bahria town in lahore and reconstruct the old unused building into homes which clearly underscore the potential impact of this trend.

In conclusion, although differing viewpoints persist the prepondarance of evidance supports the view that only build high rise buildings is not only the best way but should be the part of wider housing society. Therfor, adopting thos approach appear both pragmatic and beneficial for long run.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a relevant, balanced position: tall apartment blocks can help, but should not be the only response to housing shortages. The essay also offers two relevant lines of reasoning—possible effects on residents’ quality of life and alternatives such as new towns and converting unused buildings. However, the position is not consistently expressed: the opening says high-rises are “the best way,” while the conclusion argues they are only part of a wider approach. The supporting ideas are also under-developed. For example, explain how overcrowding or limited greenery affects residents, and how the proposed alternatives would provide homes at scale. A clearer, consistent answer to “to what extent” and more specific explanation of each example would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable essay structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion, and the paragraphs broadly separate the main reasons. Linking phrases such as “To commence with,” “Another important consideration” and “In conclusion” help signal this structure. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow: the first body paragraph moves from overcrowding to greenery, noise and social problems without explaining the connections, while the second shifts from alternatives to urban planning policy and then to examples. Some transitions feel formulaic rather than showing precise relationships between ideas. Improve cohesion by organising each paragraph around one clear claim, then explaining it and giving a directly relevant example. Ensure the conclusion follows the same position established in the introduction.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of topic-related and academic vocabulary, including “housing shortage,” “urban planning,” “housing policy,” “pertinent example” and “pragmatic.” These choices show an effort to discuss the issue beyond basic terms. However, inaccurate spelling and word choice are noticeable and sometimes make the meaning less clear, as in “contantinuous,” “appartments,” “prepondarance” and “evidance.” There are also awkward collocations, such as “high rise buildings leads to overcrowding” and “wider housing society.” Aim for accurate, natural combinations rather than adding formal-sounding phrases. Proofread spelling carefully and use precise expressions such as “housing strategy” or “residents’ quality of life” where they fit your meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a concession in “although high rise buildings are the best way…” and a relative clause in “which clearly underscore the potential impact.” However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to process. For example, “building tall appartments are” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “This essay will critically examined” uses an incorrect verb form. In “high rise buildings leads to overcrowding and reduced the quality of life,” agreement and verb forms are also inconsistent. Sentence boundaries and punctuation need attention, particularly the full stop after “housing shortage” in the introduction. Practise building shorter, accurate sentences before combining ideas into longer structures.

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