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)

Overpopulation and rapid urbanization in most countries are becoming a crisis. As we know, all people need accommodation- somewhere to live. Many efforts are being made in countries around the globe to control overpopulation and housing problems. There are a lot of suggestions and plans regarding the problem. The best one is considered to be building tall buildings and towers to accommodate more people in apartments. Overall, it's a positive development and should be done around the globe. However, other options are also valid.

Most of the major cities are expanding at a very fast pace, which could be a danger to agricultural land and food security. There are measures taken in this regard, but none of them is beneficial. The construction of concrete giants has a lot of benefits. It can provide accommodation to hundreds of people, and new technologies can be implemented. In this way, land can be saved for agricultural as well as other purposes. Food security can be ensured, and cities can be controlled. For instance, there is a housing crisis in New York City. The mayor has decided to construct tall residential buildings for the homeless. Because more people are migrating towards cities, rents for houses and apartments are increasing.

Other options include the provision of facilities in rural areas and their development. Also, population control and multi-storey buildings can overcome this issue. The severity of the issue can be judged by a recent incident. In Spain, people are protesting against continuously soaring rents and house prices. Resultantly, governments are considering different options and are adopting new strategies.

In conclusion, constructing tall buildings is a good option. The global community has already seen its success in developed countries. However, it also has some negative effects, such as carbon emissions.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is broadly clear: you support tall apartment buildings, while acknowledging that other approaches may also help. You give relevant reasons, especially that high-rise housing can accommodate many people and preserve land for agriculture, and you include examples from New York and Spain. However, the response only partly develops the question of whether this is the best way to provide enough homes. The rural-development and population-control alternatives are mentioned but not explained or compared, and the New York example needs clearer detail about how the proposed buildings address homelessness or housing supply. The conclusion introduces carbon emissions without explaining their significance. Develop and support these points more fully, and make the comparison central to your argument.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable overall structure, with an introduction, supporting paragraphs and a conclusion. Ideas generally move from the pressure on land to the benefits of high-rise housing, then to alternatives. Basic linking expressions such as “For instance,” “Also” and “In conclusion” help guide the reader. However, progression is uneven: the paragraph beginning “Other options include” shifts quickly between rural facilities, population control, protests in Spain and government strategies, without showing how these points connect or support your position. Some references are also broad, such as “this issue” and “different options.” Group related ideas more clearly, use transitions that express the relationship between them, and ensure each paragraph advances one main point.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “rapid urbanization,” “accommodation,” “food security,” “agricultural land” and “carbon emissions.” These choices make the subject clear, and some less common expressions show an attempt to discuss the issue precisely. At times, however, wording is vague or collocationally awkward: “concrete giants” is figurative but imprecise, “cities can be controlled” does not clearly convey your meaning, and “the global community has already seen its success” is a broad claim. “There are a lot of suggestions and plans” is also less formal and specific than the rest of the response. Choose precise terms for housing policy and explain claims rather than relying on general phrases; this would add the flexibility and control needed for a stronger performance.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex structures, and several sentences are controlled, such as “Most of the major cities are expanding at a very fast pace, which could be a danger to agricultural land and food security.” The conditional and relative-clause patterns show some range, and meaning remains clear throughout. Some grammatical and punctuation issues remain. In “accommodation- somewhere to live,” the dash is not correctly spaced or integrated; “Because more people are migrating towards cities, rents…” is a dependent clause that would be stronger when connected to the preceding idea; and “Resultantly, governments are considering…” has an unclear link to the protest sentence. Review punctuation around sentence boundaries and vary how you connect causes, examples and consequences. More consistently accurate complex sentences would strengthen the response.

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