Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

With the human population's exponential growth, issues regarding shelter become prominent. Highly urbanized cities are now building high-rise apartment blocks to offer enough homes. I strongly agree with this. In this essay, I will discuss the positive effect of building tall apartment blocks in large cities.

Tall apartment buildings use a small portion of land which make it very efficient than the conventional houses. Although a small area of lot is used by these skyscrapers, these building can cater hundreds or thousands of people. For example, a 20-storey apartment with 5 blocks each level can accommodate 100 families, which a normal house in the same land size could not do.

High-rise apartments could provide flexibility to government in managing the usage of its land. They could allocate more space for recreation like parks and gardens in the city. Somehow, they can improve the quality of life of everyone in providing amenities that can ensure that people in the city can still enjoy the nature. For example, instead of building 10 houses in a 10000 square meter lot, government can build a tall building apartment in a portion of that land. Then they can create parks, playgrounds, and gardens in the rest of the land.

The tall type apartments are easier to manage. Since families or people are located and living only in the same building, imposing policies are easier. For example, garbage collection can be done faster and organized.

Although building high apartment blocks may have its drawbacks like it require huge amount of money and being overcrowded, the advantages, like being land efficient, conservation of land for other recreational spaces and easy management, outpowers it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear from the introduction—“I strongly agree”—and remains consistent. You address the central issue by explaining how high-rise housing uses less land, can leave room for parks, and may make services easier to manage. The examples, such as comparing a 20-storey building with houses on the same plot, help support your reasoning. The response therefore covers the task and develops relevant points. However, the discussion is somewhat one-sided: the drawbacks are mentioned only briefly in the conclusion, without explaining when cost or overcrowding might limit the effectiveness of this approach. Developing that qualification, and making the comparison with other housing options more explicit, would make the argument more fully supported and nuanced.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction states your view, each body paragraph presents a distinct benefit, and the conclusion summarises your position. The progression from land efficiency to public space and then management is easy to follow. Examples are generally placed where they support the relevant point, and linking expressions such as “Although,” “For example,” and “Since” help connect ideas. Some transitions are a little mechanical, however, and the final paragraph introduces drawbacks without developing them before returning to the advantages. The phrase “Somehow” also does not clearly signal the relationship between the preceding point and the claim that follows. More precise transitions and a fuller connection between the counterpoint and your conclusion would strengthen the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “high-rise apartment blocks,” “recreation,” “amenities,” and “overcrowded,” and your meaning remains clear. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “exponential growth” and “conservation of land.” However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural: “a small portion of land which make it very efficient,” “a small area of lot,” and “outpowers it” do not express the ideas idiomatically. Repetition of “tall,” “building,” and “land” also limits flexibility. Aim to learn common collocations for housing and urban planning, and choose precise alternatives rather than combining formal-sounding words in unfamiliar ways.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a concession beginning “Although” and a reason clause beginning “Since.” These structures help you explain and qualify your points, and the overall meaning is generally easy to understand. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly with agreement, articles, and verb forms. For example, “which make it” should agree with the singular subject “portion,” while “these building can cater” needs a plural noun and matching verb form. In “Although building high apartment blocks may have its drawbacks like it require,” the clause has problems with agreement and structure. Review singular and plural agreement, article use, and how to form clauses after “although”; careful editing would improve accuracy while preserving your sentence variety.

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