Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-19

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)

Building tall apartments in large cities that are extremely crowded nowadays could be beneficial to several people who need homes that are situated in the city where people can find more job opportunities. I strongly agree to this statement, however, I also believe that there are also a few drawbacks of building tall apartments in the cities.

Tall apartments could be beneficial in numerous various ways. Most of the buildings nowadays are being built with calamity proof features which a lot of people would prefer. Another advantage would be that it is space-efficient. Millions of people are looking for a safe accomodation in the cities where employments are widely offered than the urban areas and if several tall apartments are to be put up this might accomodate numerous individuals who wish to relocate in the larger cities.

In contrast, tall buildings that are designed to withstand calamities do not guarantee to be completely disaster proof. In addition, if a building is too high settlers will have a problem vacating the place in times of emergency. One great example is the brown outs and electricity problems that might occur, those who are living in the higher floors will have a hard time to go to the groud floor or to live the establishment on the grounds that elevators down and they have to utilize the stairs. Imagine thosse people who stay in 25th floor or higher, they have to descend the stairs from 25th floor to the lower ground floor, which can be extremely exhausting and stressful.

In my opinion, tall apartments might be needed in the larger cities to accomodate several people who are in need of a place to stay, nevertheless there are also several factors that might be on the negative side of putting up those buildings.

In conclusion, apartments are becoming a necessity in larger cities due to the growing number of individuals who are relocating to find opportunities outside their urban areas. Having said that, it is important and needed, however, there can be several disadvantages that make it not the best idea to provide enough homes in the busy cities.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you strongly agree that tall apartments can help house people in large cities, while acknowledging drawbacks. You give relevant reasons, especially efficient use of space and the difficulty of evacuating upper floors during power failures. However, the response does not fully develop the central claim that this is the best way to provide enough homes. The benefits are mostly asserted rather than explained, and the discussion of job opportunities does not show why apartment blocks are preferable to other housing approaches. The conclusion also repeats both sides without resolving how far you agree. Develop one or two key reasons with specific explanation or an example, and make your final judgement more decisive.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, a paragraph on drawbacks, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “In contrast” and “In conclusion” help signal the direction of the discussion. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, “In my opinion” introduces a further summary after the drawback paragraph, and the final paragraph repeats ideas rather than bringing them together. Within the benefits paragraph, the shift from disaster-resistant features to space efficiency and employment is abrupt. Group related points more tightly, use clearer references to connect explanations, and avoid repeating the same position in separate concluding statements.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “space-efficient,” “calamities,” “emergency,” and “higher floors,” which helps communicate the main ideas. There is also an attempt to use less common language, but several choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “calamity proof,” “safe accomodation,” “employments,” and “brown outs.” Spelling errors including “accomodate,” “groud,” and “thosse” are noticeable. These do not prevent the reader from understanding the overall argument, but they limit precision and naturalness. Choose standard collocations and check spelling carefully; for instance, use “disaster-resistant,” “safe accommodation,” and “employment opportunities.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “if a building is too high” and a relative clause in “people who are in need of a place to stay.” The main ideas are generally understandable, but some sentences contain errors or awkward construction. For example, “I strongly agree to this statement” uses an incorrect preposition, while “those who are living in the higher floors will have a hard time to go” has problems with the preposition and verb pattern. The opening sentence is also long and difficult to follow, and the final sentence joins ideas awkwardly with “however.” Aim for clearer sentence boundaries and review verb patterns, articles, and prepositions while retaining some complex structures.

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