Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-18

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 said that the most efficient way to provide majority homes in big cities is to build tall apartment blocks. I agree with this, tall apartment blocks may play a vital role in utilising space efficiently and to make homes affordable for many people.

From my perspective, building large apartment blocks can help us utilize space efficiently as we can have multiple floors in one apartment, each floor can serve as one home, allowing multiple families to live together, which directly results as a major space saver. For instance, In many parts of the world, one family has one home but with the rapid increase in the population of the world, it might be difficult to provide dedicated homes to each family. Therefore, building large apartment blocks can be the solution to this problem.

Furthermore, the large apartment blocks can also provide financial benefits to many people. For instance, many people in big cities come from different parts of the country to pursue education.

Students can share the apartment with families or friends which means the rental amount of the apartment will be divided and they have to pay less compared to renting one complete house.

Therefore, i believe building large apartment block is an efficient way to provide more houses.

In conclusion, building large apartments blocks in big cities is an efficient way to provide more homes as it help us utilize existing space more efficiently and allow us to make homes more affordable for many people.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your position is clear: you agree that tall apartment blocks can provide homes efficiently, and you give two relevant reasons—saving space and reducing rental costs through sharing. However, the response addresses the task only partially because these points are not developed enough to show why high-rise construction is the best way to provide enough homes in large cities. The space-saving explanation is relevant, but the example about population growth remains general; the affordability point focuses on students sharing rent rather than explaining how apartment blocks themselves make housing more affordable. The response is also one word below the required minimum. Develop each reason with a more specific example and explain the link to the question’s claim.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. The ideas are generally easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “For instance,” “Furthermore,” and “Therefore” help signal examples and results. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, and the links between claims and explanations are not always clear. For example, the discussion of students sharing an apartment does not fully connect to the claim that tall blocks are the best way to increase the housing supply. The conclusion repeats the introduction rather than drawing together the two reasons. Use clearer referencing and develop each paragraph around one fully explained point, with transitions that show the precise relationship between ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate your main ideas, including “apartment blocks,” “utilising space efficiently,” “population,” and “rental amount.” There are also some attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “play a vital role” and “financial benefits.” However, the range is limited and several expressions are imprecise or repetitive, including repeated use of “large apartment blocks” and “provide homes.” Some collocations are unnatural, such as “provide majority homes” and “a major space saver,” which reduce precision. Aim for more varied, accurate housing vocabulary and check word forms and spelling consistency, for example “utilize/utilising.” More precise terms for housing supply, density and affordability would help express your argument more effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “as,” “which,” and “Therefore,” and the overall meaning is usually clear. However, control is uneven, particularly in longer sentences. In “I agree with this, tall apartment blocks may play…,” two independent clauses are joined with a comma; use a full stop or a conjunction. The sentence beginning “From my perspective” also runs through several linked clauses, making its structure difficult to manage. There are errors in agreement and articles, such as “it help us” and “building large apartment block,” as well as inconsistent capitalisation of “i.” Practise separating long sentences and checking subject–verb agreement, articles, plurals and punctuation to make your meaning more consistently clear.

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

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