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)

The best solution to provide more homes in large city areas is to construct tall apartment buildings. I completely disagree with this approach because people may not have enough money to spend, and they may eventually face difficulty to adapt newer environment and left alone.

People moving out of villages to cities might be poor and have low living standards. They may have less money to spend on their living expenses because their income from their job is not enough and is considerably lower. As a result, moving to lavish lifestyle areas is difficult for them. For instance, apartment rents are between 10k and 12k higher than normal housing rents, which they cannot afford to pay to the landlord; this may leave them frustrated and cannot manage their expenses to look after their families.

Another point is that people may feel hard adapting to different locations, as many different types of people with varied cultures live in tall blocks which is not as easy to adopt with them. Moreover, this results in a communication gap and fewer helping hands. For example, some people with different cultural backgrounds may not help others in their emergencies initially or some people look at the status of other people before they help, which leaves them left alone.

In conclusion, I completely disagree with the statement that moving to taller buildings will provide good spaces. Individuals do not have enough money to spend and have lower incomes, and they may have difficulty adapting to new environments.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you completely disagree with relying on tall apartment blocks, and you give two relevant concerns—affordability and difficulty adjusting to a new community. The examples about rent and neighbours provide some support. However, the response only partly addresses the central question of whether tall blocks are the best way to provide enough homes. It focuses on possible disadvantages for some residents without explaining what alternative housing approach would work better, or comparing tall buildings with other options. Some claims, such as rents being “10k and 12k higher,” are also unclear because the currency and comparison are not specified. Develop each reason with clearer evidence and explain how it supports your position on the best way to meet housing demand.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present separate reasons, and a conclusion restates your position. Signposting such as “Another point” and “For example” helps readers follow the main stages. However, some connections within sentences are awkward or unclear, particularly “which leaves them frustrated and cannot manage their expenses,” where the relationship between the ideas is difficult to follow. The conclusion also repeats the two concerns rather than drawing them together or clarifying the alternative implied by your argument. Use referencing carefully and make each example’s link to its paragraph’s main point explicit; this would make the progression smoother and cohesion less mechanical.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate your main concerns, including “living expenses,” “cultural backgrounds,” “communication gap,” and “emergencies.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are noticeably unnatural, which sometimes makes the meaning less precise. For example, “lavish lifestyle areas” does not clearly describe apartment blocks, and “helping hands” is informal in this context. “Adapt newer environment” and “adopt with them” also show difficulty selecting the right expression. Aim for precise housing and community vocabulary, and check whether words naturally combine in English. Replacing broad or awkward phrases with terms such as “high-density housing” and “adjust to a new community” would improve clarity and suitability for an academic essay.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, using clauses with “because,” “as,” and “which,” and the overall meaning is generally understandable. Some grammatical errors remain, especially in longer sentences. In “people may not have enough money to spend, and they may eventually face difficulty to adapt newer environment and left alone,” the verb patterns and clause structure are not controlled. Similarly, “which leaves them frustrated and cannot manage their expenses” lacks a clear grammatical subject for the second verb. Articles and prepositions also need attention, as in “adapting to different locations” followed by “adopt with them.” Practise building complex sentences with parallel verb forms and complete clauses, while checking articles and prepositions before finalising your work.

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