Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-20

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 believed that the best method to provide sufficient houses in large cities is to build tall apartment blocks. I totally agree with this that building large apartment blocks are essential to cope with the increasing population.

Nowadays, people from rural areas are moving in a large cities for better healthcare, job opportunities and excellent education. These flow of people require homes in these urban areas. So, the best method to cope with this situation is to construct tall building apartments. In buildings there could be several floors and in each floor there could be many apartments that provide enough housing to the majority of people. For instance, In UAE, there is an iconic buildings and skyscrappers almost in every area in which millions of people are residing. Moreover, these tall buildings provide enough residence as well as work place for residents.

Furthermore, to construct these buildings a small piece of land is require. It is very important in crowded areas where the land is less but the requirement of housing is more. Moreover, these tall apartments are affordable and cheap options for many people rather than a villa. In Dubai, majority of people who came from other countries prefer to live in an apartments because these apartments provide essential amenities like gym, swimming pool and play area for children.

To conclude, the best method to provide houses in large cities is to build tall apartment blocks that take a small piece of land and affordable for many residents.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you strongly support tall apartment blocks, and you give relevant reasons, including efficient land use and lower costs than villas. The UAE and Dubai examples help connect your argument to real urban housing. However, the response is under the required 250 words: it contains 232 words, and the 18 words copied from the task prompt are not counted. This limits the space available to develop your points. For example, the claim that apartments are affordable is asserted rather than explained, and the benefits of providing workplaces are not linked clearly to the question of supplying homes. Add further explanation or a specific example to develop these ideas and address the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two supporting paragraphs and a conclusion. The main points are generally easy to follow: population movement leads to housing demand, while high-rise construction uses less land. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, with repeated use of “Moreover” and several sentences beginning with “These” or “In Dubai.” Some links between ideas are also abrupt; for instance, the point that tall buildings provide workplaces appears without explaining how this supports the housing argument. Paragraphing is appropriate, but clearer links between each reason and the central position would strengthen the overall progression. Use a wider range of linking expressions and make references more precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “population,” “job opportunities,” “crowded areas,” and “amenities,” so the main ideas are understandable. However, the range is limited and some word choices or combinations are noticeably inaccurate, such as “flow of people,” “building apartments,” and “provide enough residence.” Spelling errors in “skyscrappers” and “require” also reduce accuracy. Repetition of “tall buildings,” “apartments,” and “provide” makes the argument less flexible. Aim to use more precise housing and urban-planning terms, and check spelling and collocations. For example, describe people moving to cities as “migration” and refer to “residential units” rather than “residence” when discussing multiple homes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some longer sentences, including “Nowadays, people from rural areas are moving…” and the explanation of how floors can accommodate many apartments. However, the range remains limited, and errors occur frequently in basic sentence patterns, agreement, articles and verb forms. Examples include “I totally agree with this that,” “building large apartment blocks are essential,” “in a large cities,” and “a small piece of land is require.” There are also errors in “in each floor” and “live in an apartments.” These do not prevent the reader from understanding the overall argument, but they make the writing less accurate and sometimes awkward. Practise checking subject–verb agreement, singular and plural nouns, and article use, then proofread each sentence.

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

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