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)

The effective method to provide sufficient houses in major urban areas is to construct high apartment blocks to people. In my opinion, I believe that constructing condominiums would be efficient and convenient in providing homes to every families. However, this would impact the social and mental health of every individual.

On the one hand, most major cities are in lack of houses and developing high rise building would be an effective way on equipping every individual a home. Most of the big opportunities for each person is located in big cities therefore a lot of people are now migrating to urban areas, which there would be insufficient areas to build houses. Building a tall apartement blocks would be convenient because small area will be needing for construction and they would be able to have all necessities in one of the floors. For instance, most of these areas are equipped with groceries, activity area, and a high security. Having these benefits would be great way for every family to spend and have good environment for their children.

On the other hand, Most houses have a large space for everyone to live and breath, which is in contrast to high rise buldings which most of the areas are limited in space. This would affect the social and mental health of every person staying in the apartment. For instance, some people would tend to isolate themselves in their apartment because they are not comfortable on the environment that condominiums have. Since most of the big cities are overpopulated, which noise pollution would be big problem for most of the tenants, isolating themselves would be their choice.

In conclusion, building a high-rise apartment would offer a convenient way of living but it would not be beneficial to the environment which would affect the social interaction and mental health of a person.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you recognise that high-rise apartments can provide homes efficiently, while arguing that they may harm residents’ social and mental well-being. Both sides are relevant, and the examples about facilities in apartment buildings and residents isolating themselves help address the question. However, the discussion is unevenly developed. The benefits are supported with several details, but the claim that apartment living harms mental health relies mainly on a hypothetical example, and the conclusion introduces environmental harm without explaining it in the essay. To strengthen the response, explain more precisely why high-rise housing is the best way to meet demand, compare it with alternatives, and develop the drawbacks with specific reasoning or evidence.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting contrasting points, and a conclusion. The paragraphing makes the main stages easy to follow, and signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” clarify the direction of the argument. Some connections between ideas are less smooth or precise. For example, the sentence beginning “Most of the big opportunities” moves from job opportunities to migration and then to limited building space without clearly showing each link. The phrase “Since most of the big cities are overpopulated, which noise pollution…” also disrupts the relationship between cause and effect. Use clearer sentence links and refer explicitly to the point each example supports.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “urban areas,” “high-rise buildings,” “noise pollution,” and “social and mental health.” These choices make the subject clear, and you attempt more specific language such as “condominiums” and “overpopulated.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, which limits precision: “in lack of houses,” “equipping every individual a home,” and “a large space for everyone to live and breath” do not sound natural in context. There are also spelling errors, including “apartement” and “buldings.” Aim for accurate collocations and vary repeated terms such as “big cities” and “every individual”; careful proofreading would also improve control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “because,” “which,” and “since,” and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, errors in sentence structure and agreement recur. For example, “most of the big opportunities … is located” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “which there would be insufficient areas” is not a correctly formed clause. The opening also has an unnecessary combination in “In my opinion, I believe,” and “every families” does not use the correct singular form after “every.” Some sentences are long and joined in ways that obscure the relationships between ideas. Practise building accurate complex sentences, checking agreement and articles, and separating clauses with appropriate punctuation.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.