Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-14

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)

Building tall apartment blocks is seemingly a better way for providing enough homes in a large cities. I fully agree to this statement for reason being, if an individual is just starting out his life at a new city, buying a hiuse for living is a very big commitment.

The population of a large city is usually very high, so building individual homes does not seem like a practical solution. It can lead to homelessness and ruckus all around the city. Building apartment blocks can give the growing population a chance to have a roof over their heads. To exemplify, a city such as New york the popuation count exceeds millions, so to have an idndividual house for over a million people doesnot sound doable but, if apartment blocks are built all over the city one building can house over hundreds of people.

Nature and humans should coexist in a place together, but if all the land aropund the city is used for building houses, natural resources cannot exist. It makes the city look dystopian. Most of the individuals migrating to larger cities come from a comperatively small town with a close knit community, while individual houses can give them a sense that they are cut off from the world, apartment blocks can give them a sense of neighbourhood and community. As someone who recently moved into a larger city than my home town, having an aqpartment felt like an accomplicement since I could afford it with very littlle salary I made whiole houses reqauires a bigger budget.

To conclude, I believe that, apartment complexes are a good way to provide homes in large city. Since the population is high, it is not possible to build houses for such demographic. Housing crisis would mostly be solved through that, since people will haqve a variety of apartments to choose from.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you fully support tall apartment blocks, and you give relevant reasons about population density, land use and affordability. The New York example helps illustrate why detached homes may be impractical, while your personal experience adds a relevant perspective. This addresses the task, but some points are asserted more than explained. For instance, the claim that apartment blocks can prevent homelessness needs a clearer link to how sufficient, affordable housing would be provided. The idea that apartments create community is also not fully developed, and the statement that housing needs cannot be met with individual homes is too absolute. Explain these points with more specific reasoning or examples to make the argument more fully supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs with distinct themes, and a conclusion that restates your view. Linking expressions such as “To exemplify” and “To conclude” help signal the stages of the argument. However, progression within sentences and between ideas is sometimes difficult to follow. The first body paragraph moves from population size to homelessness and then to the New York example without fully explaining each connection. The second combines environmental concerns, community and personal affordability, so its focus becomes broad. Some transitions, including “but” and “while,” do not clearly show the relationship between the ideas. Group related points more tightly and use clearer references and links to make the argument flow more smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use vocabulary relevant to housing and urban growth, including “population,” “natural resources,” “migrating” and “housing crisis,” and phrases such as “a roof over their heads” communicate your ideas effectively. However, the range is limited in places, with repeated use of “city,” “houses” and “building,” and some choices are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “a very big commitment,” “ruckus” and “a sense that they are cut off from the world.” Spelling errors—including “hiuse,” “popuation,” “idndividual” and “aqpartment”—are noticeable and sometimes interrupt reading. Aim for more precise housing-related collocations and proofread carefully; this would make your meaning clearer and your vocabulary more appropriate to an academic essay.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a conditional opening (“if an individual is just starting out…”) and a contrast between apartment blocks and individual homes. Most of the argument remains understandable, but some grammatical errors and punctuation problems make parts harder to follow. For example, “in a large cities” has an article–number mismatch, and “individual houses does not seem” has subject–verb disagreement. The long sentence beginning “As someone who recently moved…” contains several clauses that are not controlled clearly, while commas are used inconsistently around phrases such as “I believe that.” Practise checking agreement, articles and sentence boundaries, and divide long sentences where needed. More accurate control of these structures would strengthen the essay.

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