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)

Large cities often struggle to accommodate residents as these large cities also sometimes have large number of population. To provides home to many families, building a tall apartment seems like a good idea but i slightly disagree because there are also some consequences which can overcome the advantages of constructing tall apartments.

Building a tall apartments would help with accommodation of many residents but it also mean that building would be tall enough that it might block the sunlight to reach many apartments. Absence of the natural light mean many health issues related to bones because sunlight is the primary source of a vitamin D, being not able to have enough light to the apartments would cause more health issues to individuals later.

Moreover, as some like me who experienced to live an apartment building before, there are some other issues like water supplement and building cleanliness rules and regulations which some residents who do not follow, often end up in disputes with other neighbors affecting the social environment of the building.

Although, it has some advantages because it would help the government to build vertical apartment rather than horizontal, to save some space which can be use for the other purposes such as public parks and parkings, but it would cause more issues related to health than the benefits.

In my conclusion, I believe the government need to find the other solution rather than building vertical apartment to accommodate population of large cities because the disadvantages could overpower the advantages which are much harder to deal with in long term.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you slightly disagree because tall blocks may create health and social problems, while acknowledging that they save land for other uses. This addresses the question and gives relevant reasons, including your experience of apartment living. However, the case against high-rise housing is not fully developed. The sunlight point focuses on possible health effects without explaining how building design or city planning might affect this, and the water-supply and neighbour-dispute examples are asserted rather than illustrated. The benefit of freeing space for parks is also mentioned briefly. To strengthen the response, explain why these drawbacks outweigh the housing capacity, and consider whether tall blocks are the best option compared with alternatives.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall structure: an introduction states your view, the body paragraphs present concerns and an advantage, and the conclusion restates your position. Linking expressions such as “Moreover” and “Although” help signal relationships between ideas. However, some connections are awkward or unclear. The paragraph beginning “Although” combines the benefit of saving space with the claim that health issues outweigh it, making the contrast difficult to follow. The conclusion also repeats the introduction’s general position rather than drawing together the reasons. Use clearer topic sentences and divide contrasting points into more distinct steps; ensure references such as “it” and “which” have an unmistakable antecedent.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate your main ideas, including “accommodate residents,” “natural light,” “social environment,” and “public parks.” There are also attempts at more specific language, such as “vertical apartment” and “consequences,” though some choices are inaccurate or unnatural. For example, “water supplement” does not express the likely meaning of water supply, and “large number of population” is an awkward collocation. Repetition of “large cities,” “building,” and “issues” also limits flexibility. Aim for more precise collocations and vary repeated nouns; this would make the argument clearer and more natural without requiring unusually advanced vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a conditional idea (“it might block the sunlight”) and a concession beginning “Although.” Meaning is generally recoverable, but errors in agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence construction are noticeable. Examples include “To provides home,” “building a tall apartments would help,” and “it also mean”; these should be revised to use consistent verb forms and singular/plural agreement. The sentence about residents who do not follow rules is also difficult to control, while “In my conclusion” is an awkward sentence opening. Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject and correctly matched verb, and use shorter sentences when a complex structure becomes hard to manage.

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