Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-17
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)
It is argued that constructing high rise buildings in the big cities, is the only way to provide housing. Nowadays, it is essential for government to provide housing scheme to poor individual. In my opinion, i partly agree that constucting large apartments is the best way, but also some other ways.
On the one hand, building tall aprtment blocks have some benefits. First, large cities have limited land and high rise buildings can accommodate many people. For example, in large cities like karachi and lahore large building provides thousands of homes. Second, it is cheaper for government to provide water supply and transport faculty at one place rather than at many small towns.
On the other hand, there are some other effective solution to sove these problem. One is to constuct a small town outside the city with good transportation. It will reduce overcrowding. Another way is to use old buildings and convert them into houses. This will be cheaper and also saves land. Therefore, large apartments is not the only solution.
In conclusion, although large buildings and small town have their own benefits it also depend on some factors. From my perspective, make small town outside large cities have more beneficial. becuse it can reduce traffic congestion. and also a cheaper for gov
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You give a relevant, partly balanced response: the first body paragraph explains how tall buildings use limited urban land and can make water and transport provision more efficient, while the second offers alternatives such as developing a town outside the city and converting old buildings. Your position is that apartments are not the only solution, and you ultimately favour small towns. However, the extent of your agreement is not consistently clear: the opening says you “partly agree,” but the conclusion shifts towards another option without fully explaining how the two approaches should be balanced. The alternatives and examples are also brief and need more explanation or specific support. The response is 36 words below the required minimum, so there is limited space to develop your reasoning. Clarify your position and extend each main idea with a concrete explanation or example.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two contrasting body paragraphs and a conclusion. “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” help signal the change in viewpoint, and the main ideas are generally presented in a sensible order. However, progression within paragraphs is basic: points are listed with “First,” “Second” and “Another way,” but the links between claims and their consequences are not always made explicit. The conclusion is also abrupt, and its final fragments (“becuse it can reduce traffic congestion. and also a cheaper for gov”) interrupt the flow. Use complete concluding sentences, connect each example directly to its point, and make the relationship between your partial agreement and final preference clearer.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “high rise buildings,” “limited land,” “overcrowding” and “traffic congestion.” Some phrases also show an attempt to discuss practical urban planning, such as providing water supply and transport. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, spelling and collocation errors make the writing less precise: “transport faculty” does not express the intended service, “housing scheme to poor individual” is awkward, and “sove these problem” is unclear. Spelling errors such as “constucting,” “aprtment” and “becuse” are noticeable. Build a more accurate set of phrases for housing and infrastructure, and check spelling and word forms before submitting.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, including a contrastive structure in “although large buildings and small town have their own benefits.” However, the range remains limited, and errors occur frequently in sentence structure, agreement, articles and punctuation. For example, “building tall aprtment blocks have” needs a singular subject-verb pattern, while “large apartments is not the only solution” has a plural-subject agreement error. The final thought is broken into fragments, and “and also a cheaper for gov” lacks a complete grammatical structure. Capitalisation is also inconsistent, as in “i” and the city names. Practise accurate complete sentences, especially when combining clauses, and check subject-verb agreement and sentence boundaries.
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