Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-21

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 7.0)

In many parts of the world, major cities are facing a common housing problem. Some experts believe that constructing tall residential towers is the best solution to this problem. In my opinion, these buildings offer a sustainable and effective counter-measure against the issue faced by various metro-cities across the globe.

Firstly, flats are much more efficient in utilising vertical space. They can house more number of people per square kilometre than other options. This efficiently tackles the problem of lack of usable land in big cities as older buildings can be demolished to make way high rise residential blocks. A further benefit to this is that apartments are considerably lower costing than bungalows;therefore, a larger share of the population can afford homes and rent. A prime example of this can be observed in the city of Mumbai in India, where the government is continuosly promoting the construction of tall flats by replacing older buildings and slum area.

Another benefit in favour of apartments is that it brings people together. In other words, it fosters a small community inside the building. People from different religion and background can come closer and create a small society. Not only does this lead to an increase in overall happiness among the general population, but it can also lead to a boost in the city's economy. An unemployed student, for instance, can find job or an internship with help of people in his apartment block. For these reasons, an increasing number of cities around the world are prioritising the construction of tall residential flats.

To sum up, I completely agree with the statement that flats are the best solution to provide sufficient homes in large cities because they are more space efficient, cheaper, and they also unite the community.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear from the introduction—tall residential towers are presented as an effective solution—and the conclusion restates your agreement. You address the central issue with relevant reasons: efficient use of urban land, lower housing costs, and opportunities for community connections. The Mumbai example helps ground the first point, while the student finding work through neighbours illustrates the second argument. These ideas are extended and supported, which makes the response persuasive overall. To strengthen it further, explain more precisely how replacing older buildings increases the supply of affordable homes, and qualify broad claims such as apartments being cheaper or improving happiness. This would make the support more fully developed and less generalised.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear overall progression: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs develop separate benefits, and a conclusion summarises your position. Paragraphing is appropriate, and signposts such as “Firstly,” “Another benefit,” and “To sum up” make the structure easy to follow. You also use linking forms such as “In other words” and “Not only…but also” to connect explanations. At times, however, the links feel formulaic, and the move from community-building to the city’s economy is not fully explained. The phrase “For these reasons” then refers to several claims without distinguishing their relative importance. Develop the relationship between ideas more explicitly and vary transitions to make cohesion more flexible.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a reasonably broad range of topic vocabulary, including “vertical space,” “usable land,” “residential towers,” and “construction,” and the meaning remains clear throughout. There are also attempts at less common or formal expressions, such as “counter-measure” and “prioritising.” However, some choices are inaccurate or unnatural: “more number of people,” “lower costing,” and “metro-cities” do not fit idiomatic English, while “continuosly” is misspelled. “People from different religion and background” also needs more precise plural forms. These slips show that the range is adequate and sometimes ambitious, but collocation and word-form control are not yet consistently secure. Prefer natural, precise phrases over formal-sounding combinations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex structures, including the relative clause in “buildings…as older buildings can be demolished” and the inversion in “Not only does this lead…”. Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, and the conclusion is grammatically clear. Some errors remain in agreement, articles, plurals, and sentence boundaries: “it brings people together” has a plural subject (“apartments”), “different religion and background” needs plural forms, and “can find job” requires an article. The punctuation in “bungalows;therefore” also needs a space after the semicolon. Review these patterns and check each sentence for agreement and missing articles; greater consistency would make your varied structures more accurate.

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