Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The most convenient way to provide sufficient houses in big cities is constructing the tall apartment blocks. I disagree with this approach because tall building apartments cannot provide people enough place to live.

First of all, construction of long buildings can be beneficial to give homes to big socities. These apartments can provide shelter to some individuals, however low-income people cannot get enough facilities. For instance, long apartments are usually made of expensive material so their cost can be high. Therefore middle-class people may not be able to afford these buildings which is big challenge for them. Morever, tall apartment blocks may not be sufficient in large cities due to the fact, population is considerably higher than rural areas. As a result, people may not find enough places to stay in several areas of cities.

Secondly, tall buildings are usually located in the populated areas of communities this is because, individuals living in areas which are away from these apartments may face several problems like traveling and other expenses. Furthermore, recidency in big apartments require much facilities which can put extra burden on the economy of nation. So i believe, government must invest in building separate houses in urban areas instead of relying on larger apartments. This approach can provide advtantages to citizens as well it may contribute to boost the economy of the country.

In conclusion, from my perspective the idea of building the taller apartments to provide residency to citizens has more issues and detrimental effects.These apartments are usually expensive and located in specific areas, that is why it is better for authorities to provide separate homes rather than construction of taller buildings.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you disagree with relying on tall apartment blocks and recommend separate homes. You give relevant reasons, including affordability, location and the costs of facilities, and the example about expensive construction materials helps illustrate the affordability point. However, the response only partly develops the central comparison. The claim that tall blocks cannot provide enough places because cities are more populated than rural areas is not fully explained, and the point about residents living far from these buildings is difficult to connect to the proposal. Explain more precisely how alternative housing would accommodate more people or be more affordable, and support each main reason with a clear example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “First of all,” “Secondly” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of your argument. However, progression within the body paragraphs is sometimes unclear: the first moves from affordability to population density without showing how the ideas relate, while the second combines location, travel costs and national economic burden. Some linking is mechanical, and punctuation around connectors—for example, “due to the fact, population”—interrupts the flow. Group related points together, use clearer cause-and-effect links, and make references such as “these apartments” unambiguous.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “low-income people,” “afford,” “populated areas” and “extra burden on the economy,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, which makes parts of the argument less clear. For example, “long buildings” is not a natural way to describe high-rise housing, and “provide people enough place” is awkward. There are also spelling errors such as “socities,” “Morever,” “recidency” and “advtantages.” Build a more precise set of housing and urban-planning terms, and check spelling and collocations when editing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a reason clause with “because” and a result structure with “As a result.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in sentence construction, agreement, articles and punctuation are noticeable. For example, “The most convenient way … is constructing” needs a more natural grammatical pattern, and “residency in big apartments require” has a subject–verb agreement problem. The sentence beginning “tall buildings are usually located…” also joins ideas without adequate punctuation. Practise accurate clause boundaries and agreement, and review articles and countable nouns; then proofread longer sentences to ensure each clause is complete and correctly connected.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.