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)

I agree with this sentence and I can explain why. I have lived in a big city from Romania as a child, living with my parents. I don't know exactly the number of people who live in that town but I can confirm that the population is huge. We have a lot of tall apartment blocks and more than half of the people are living there. This is a good decision because it gives to our people the power to decide if they want to buy and live in a house or in an apartment. They have the opportunity to buy a flat with one, two, three or four bedrooms for a cheaper price in the city, near the shops, their jobs and near the town centre. The houses are usually located at the end and outside of the town. They are more expensive and the community must to think twice if they are capable and the budget to move near the town.

In present, we have hundreds of architects who build tall apartments for our community and the prices have started to increase like everywhere in the world. In future we will not be capable to buy a house for us and for our children because the economy is an important factor in the country which affects us and make us to move in another small town or villages. Also, we had started to move to another country and this is a negative impact for everyone, for our families, employers, healthcare, etc.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your position is clear from the opening: you agree that tall apartment blocks are a good way to provide homes. The personal example of living in a large Romanian city and the comparison between flats and houses are relevant, especially your points about affordability and proximity to shops and jobs. However, the response only partly develops the task: it does not explain in detail why building upwards is the best solution for large cities, or consider limitations such as overcrowding or alternatives. The later discussion of emigration and the economy is only loosely connected to apartment blocks. To strengthen the response, explain how high-rise housing accommodates more residents on limited land and support this reasoning with a specific example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has some organisation: it begins with your position, gives a personal example, and then moves to future concerns. Basic links such as “because,” “In future,” and “Also” help show relationships between ideas. However, the overall progression is not consistently clear. The second paragraph shifts from apartment construction and rising prices to moving abroad, without fully explaining the connection. Several ideas are also crowded into long sentences, and the response would benefit from clearer paragraph purposes—for example, one paragraph on how apartment blocks increase housing supply and another on affordability and drawbacks. Use referencing and linking phrases to make the relationship between each point and your main argument explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main points, including “population,” “apartment blocks,” “bedrooms,” “budget,” and “economy.” There are also attempts at more specific expressions such as “town centre” and “healthcare.” However, the range is limited and some word choices or collocations sound unnatural, which can make parts of the argument less clear. For example, “gives to our people the power to decide” and “the community must to think twice” do not express the intended ideas naturally. Repetition of “town,” “people,” and “house” also limits precision. Build a wider set of housing and urban-planning terms, and check common word partnerships when describing affordability, location, and population growth.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple sentences and longer sentences with subordinate clauses, such as “because it gives…” and “because the economy is an important factor…”. This shows some effort to connect ideas grammatically. However, the range remains limited, and errors occur frequently in verb forms, sentence patterns, and agreement, sometimes making the reader pause. Examples include “I have lived in a big city from Romania,” “the community must to think twice,” and “the economy … affects us and make us to move.” Tense choices are also inconsistent in “In present” and “we had started to move.” Practise accurate patterns such as “must think,” “affects … and makes,” and “we have started,” then use a mix of shorter, controlled sentences and more complex structures.

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