Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Arguing if building tall apartment blocks is the best way to provide enough homes in large cities will carry on forever, butt careful observation and detailing will make us realize the main points of beneficial and detrimental sides of the topic.

Well, I am of two minds about it. On the one hand, absolutely, buildings with substantial amount of overwhelming number of accomodations, will help the majority of population to make home in standard environment, especially ones who are homeless. Roof on top of yopu head is great, but what it is worth for?

But, on the other hand, that is not always a case, sometimes new built infrastructures are not steady enough, particularly ones, which are statuesque. Mostly the problem is base. Not only that, but it is dangerous for milieu. For structure to be built, constructor workers are cutting trees, which prevents us from breathing the fresh air, whereby as the time passes can cause lung disease.

However, to solve this problem, we have to balance nexus between artificial materials and natural resources because no matter how much premises individuals are going to build, there will be home for people, but not structurally sound and safe.

To encapsulate all the statements mentioned above, I can conclude that, it is fantastic for everyone to have roof on their heads, but we all prefer if it will not demolish on our scalps. Risking our own life is worth than being homeless for few weeks, months or years because if someone will die, there is no need of house for them. Life is the only thing we have to take care of because it comes once in the life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You present a partly balanced position, saying you are “of two minds” and discussing both the housing benefits and possible safety and environmental costs of tall blocks. However, the response does not fully answer whether this is the best way to provide enough homes: the benefits are asserted rather than explained, and the discussion of unstable construction and tree loss is not clearly connected to whether other housing approaches would work better. The conclusion focuses on the danger of collapse and the value of life, leaving your overall degree of agreement unclear. Develop a consistent position and support it with specific reasoning or an example, such as how high-rise housing can use limited urban land efficiently and what safeguards are needed. (The response meets the stated length requirement.)

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, contrasting points, a proposed solution, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “On the one hand,” “on the other hand,” and “However” help signal the direction of the discussion. This supports a coherent overall arrangement. At times, though, the links between ideas are unclear or mechanical. For example, “Roof on top of yopu head is great, but what it is worth for?” does not clearly lead into the next point, and the paragraph about balancing materials and resources does not explain how that balance would solve the stated housing problem. Make each paragraph develop one central point, and use clearer references and explanations to connect claims to the main question.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt a range of vocabulary, including “substantial,” “infrastructures,” “structurally sound,” and “natural resources,” and some choices help express the topic. However, several inaccurate or unnatural expressions make parts of the argument difficult to follow. “Overwhelming number of accomodations” does not naturally describe the capacity of apartment buildings, while “milieu” and “nexus” are not suitable in their contexts. There are also spelling errors, including “yopu” and “accomodations.” Aim for precise, natural collocations rather than unusually formal words, and check spelling carefully. More accurate phrases such as “a large number of housing units” and “balance development with environmental protection” would make your ideas clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the contrastive opening “On the one hand … But, on the other hand” and the conditional “if someone will die.” However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors sometimes make the intended meaning hard to understand. For example, “Arguing if building … will carry on forever” is not a clear grammatical opening, and “there will be home for people” is missing an article and has an awkward construction. The final sentence also uses an unsuitable tense pattern in “if it will not demolish.” Practise forming clear topic sentences and conditional clauses, and check articles, verb forms, and sentence boundaries. Shorter, controlled sentences would help you communicate your reasoning more reliably.

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

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