Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Many countries have began vertical housing development in the past few years. Although traditional housing provide us more space and privacy to a family, I firmly believe that tall apartment buildings have more benefits over the traditional housing system and cities especially big cities should adapt this system.

One of the main advantages of tall apartment blocks in large cities is that usually people from other small cities come here for living and more residents can stay in less space. A single or double storey house is oftenly occupied by one or two families. On the other hand, tall apartments can provide housing for almost ten or more families in same space which also include other facilities like gym, cafeteria and pharmacy. Residents also dont need to worry about the maintainance as it is taken care by the owning authorities. Consequently, people can save time of maintaining or moving out for the facilities. For example, big cities like New York and Sydney have been building tall apartments for a long time to prevent shortage of space.

On the other hand, vertical housing system is also beneficial for the environment because less greenary needs to be cut down to provide living space to people. As a result, trees and gardens can be preserved which can provide fresh air to people living in these cities. Futhermore, building tall apartments in city center can also provide easy access to public transport. Therefore, people can commute on public transport instead of private cars which will ultimately reduce pollution. For instance, Mumbai has also started vertical housing system to accomodate more people and reduce pollution.

To conclude, I believe that tall apartments have many advantages and can provide more space for people. Governments should start taking initiatives to promote vertical buildings as this can ensure business growth and healthy life in big cities because more people will be able to easily move and find accomodation with less pollution.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear from the introduction: you firmly support tall apartment buildings, and the conclusion reinforces this view. You address the central issue by explaining how high-rise housing accommodates more residents on limited land, and you add relevant environmental and transport benefits. Examples such as New York, Sydney and Mumbai help illustrate the argument. This is a well-focused response with ideas extended and supported. To strengthen it further, develop the comparison with alternatives more directly: the opening mentions the greater space and privacy of traditional housing, but this point is not explored in the body. Some claims, such as apartments reducing pollution or ensuring business growth, would also benefit from a clearer explanation of how these outcomes follow.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall progression: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present distinct advantages, and the conclusion restates your position. Paragraphing is appropriate, and linking expressions such as “On the other hand,” “As a result,” and “Therefore” make relationships between points easy to follow. The examples are placed alongside the claims they support. At times, however, the linking can feel somewhat formulaic, and “On the other hand” suggests a contrast even though the second body paragraph adds another benefit rather than presenting a counterargument. The final sentence also combines several outcomes—business growth, health, mobility and accommodation—without clearly showing their connections. More precise transitions and clearer links between claims would make the progression more flexible.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “vertical housing development,” “public transport,” “commute,” and “shortage of space,” which helps communicate the main ideas. There are also attempts at more specific language, such as “owning authorities” and “accommodate more people.” However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward: “traditional housing system,” “for living,” and “moving out for the facilities” do not express the intended meanings naturally. Spelling errors such as “maintainance,” “greenary,” “Futhermore,” and “accomodation” also reduce accuracy. Aim to use familiar words precisely and check spelling; a smaller number of well-controlled topic-specific expressions will be more effective than awkward phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a concessive opening with “Although” and cause-and-effect structures such as “because” and “which.” Most sentences remain understandable, and the errors rarely prevent the reader from following your argument. Some grammatical inaccuracies are evident, however: “Many countries have began” should use the past participle “begun,” while “traditional housing provide” needs subject–verb agreement. Articles and sentence construction also need attention in phrases such as “in same space” and “it is taken care by the owning authorities.” Review verb forms, agreement, and article use, and proofread longer sentences for complete, well-connected clauses. Greater accuracy across these patterns would make your varied structures more effective.

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