Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Due to growing human population, need for more houses is rising. Some argue that the best possible solution is to build taller apartments in major cities. I largely agree with this view as taller buildings occupy less space and accommodate more people. However, careful planning is also crucial to sustain this system.

Firstly, taller buildings provide cheaper accommodation, occupy less area and offer better facilities. Many people from villages move to urban cities in search of jobs and better life-style. When demand for houses go upwards, single residential units are sold at double price. For instance, Malaysia is considered as one of the top urban country. It's housing is comprised 80% of taller buildings while providing residence for everyone.

However, careful planning is strictly needed for this concept. As we quoted example of Malaysia, it is only successful because it provides and monitors whether all the facilities available to residents or not. Basic healthcare, transport and safety is available to every citizen. As taller buildings impose greater risk to natural disasters like flood and earthquakes. Officials must check whether all the safety measures were followed while construction as well as economical factors.

Nevertheless, some people are not in favor of these sky-scrappers as they believe natural disasters mainly impact these buildings and people are at risk of destruction.

Overall, the best approach to solve the housing problem is to build taller apartment blocks. As it lessens the need for more raw material, labor force and resources. Although careful planning and management is crucial to sustain this solution.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the introduction: you largely agree that taller apartment blocks can address urban housing demand, while recognising that planning is necessary. You give relevant reasons, including efficient land use, accommodation capacity, facilities and safety, and the Malaysia example helps make the discussion concrete. The response therefore addresses the question, but the support is uneven: the claim that taller buildings provide cheaper accommodation is not explained, and the Malaysia statistics and claims about services are asserted rather than substantiated. The counterargument about disaster risks is also brief and is not fully weighed against your position. Develop each main point with a clearer explanation or example, and show more explicitly why the benefits make this the best approach.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a recognisable structure, moving from your position to supporting reasons, a qualification about planning, a counterargument and a conclusion. Paragraphing generally helps the reader follow this progression, and signposts such as “Firstly,” “However” and “Overall” make the stages visible. Some links are less effective or mechanical: “Nevertheless” introduces a concern that largely repeats the previous paragraph’s disaster point, while “As we quoted example of Malaysia” does not clearly connect the example to the claim that planning is essential. The final paragraph also repeats the main position without bringing the competing points together. Use clearer references and transitions, and organise the safety concern and response so each paragraph advances the argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “accommodation,” “urban,” “facilities,” “natural disasters” and “safety measures,” which makes the subject clear. There are also attempts at more specific expressions such as “residential units” and “raw material.” However, several choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “urban country,” “housing is comprised 80% of taller buildings,” “life-style,” and “sky-scrappers.” These do not prevent understanding, but they reduce precision and naturalness. Aim for established phrases such as “highly urbanised country,” “housing stock consists largely of high-rise buildings,” and “standard of living.” Check spelling and whether a phrase describes the intended relationship accurately, especially when presenting statistics.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex forms, including the concession in “Although careful planning and management is crucial” and the conditional idea about officials checking safety measures. The main argument remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “When demand for houses go upwards” has a subject–verb agreement problem, and “Basic healthcare, transport and safety is available” also needs agreement with its plural subject. “It's housing” uses the wrong form of the possessive, while “As taller buildings impose greater risk…” is an incomplete sentence. Work on agreement, possessives, articles and complete clause structure. Combining the final “Although” clause with the preceding sentence would also improve control of complex sentences and punctuation.

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