Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-16

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 5.0)

The best way to provide homes in large cities is to build tall apartment blocks . The main reason of building tall apartment blocks is that maximum people can fit in a building . This avoids the cities breaking the gardens and other places for the purpose of building a tall apartment.

I agree with the statement of building tall apartments in large cities as it reduces some pollution in the city and uses less places for the construction of new buildings. If they build a 20 floor building and each floor has 4 houses , there are 80 houses in a single building with each house having a minimum of 2 people and maximum of 7 to 8 people . Approximately , in a single building , there are people from around 360 people. This makes the knowing of new people in a big city easier and they can be helpful to each other proffessionally or also as a neighbour. This increases the bonding and creates a good environment.

I disagree with the statement that the best way to provide enough homes in large cities is to build tall apartments. To make maximum people fit in a single building , we also have to most importantly see the financial factors. Not everyone is financially affordable to buy a flat in such huge buildings. The maintenance of the building cannot be paid equally by everyone. A building can also be made of 6 to 8 floors. Yes it can be a bit small and the number of buildings in the city will be increased , but by seeing the factors such like natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods, this is a much better and safe idea so that everyone can easily escape in case of emergency like fire etc.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You give a position on the issue and include relevant points on space, affordability, maintenance and safety. The example of a 20-floor building with 80 homes helps illustrate how high-rise housing could accommodate many residents. However, the response addresses the question only partially because it first says “I agree” and later “I disagree” without clarifying your overall extent of agreement. The claim that tall buildings reduce pollution is also not explained, and the safety comparison with 6-to-8-floor buildings needs support rather than being presented as automatically safer. Develop fewer points with clearer reasoning and examples, and state a consistent position from the introduction through the conclusion. The length requirement is met; 24 words copied from the task prompt were not counted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response is divided into paragraphs, and the main ideas are generally identifiable: the first paragraph introduces the topic, while the next two present advantages and concerns. However, progression is limited because the final paragraph reverses the position announced in the second paragraph, and there is no concluding paragraph to resolve this conflict. Connections between ideas are sometimes abrupt: the discussion moves from the number of residents to neighbourly bonding, then to affordability and emergency escape without clearly showing how each point supports the answer. Linking phrases such as “I agree” and “I disagree” signal contrast, but they do not create a coherent overall argument. Organise the body around a consistent position, use clear topic sentences, and finish by summarising your judgement.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate basic ideas, including “apartment blocks,” “maintenance,” “financial factors” and “natural disasters.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, which sometimes makes the meaning less clear. For example, “maximum people can fit” and “uses less places” are not natural expressions, while “financially affordable” is awkward. “The knowing of new people” also does not express the intended idea clearly. Spelling errors such as “proffessionally” further reduce accuracy. Aim to use more precise housing and urban-planning vocabulary, and check whether words combine naturally; for instance, describe buildings as accommodating residents and refer to the cost of purchasing or maintaining a flat.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including a conditional example beginning “If they build a 20 floor building” and a sentence explaining the possible benefits of neighbourly contact. However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences awkward or difficult to follow. Examples include “The main reason of building” and “there are people from around 360 people,” where the sentence structures are not controlled. There are also problems with articles, plurals and punctuation, such as “a 20 floor building,” “less places,” and spaces before full stops. Practise building accurate sentences with subordinate clauses, and proofread for article use, plural forms and sentence boundaries while keeping the meaning direct.

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