Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-22

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 5.0)

The easiest solution to allocate enough living space in populated cities is to construct high-rise apartment blocks. In my opinion, this is the best and most practical solution to provide enough homes for all people in big cities. It makes space for industry in the city. Building tall apartments can reduce the price of land in the city.

Building tall apartments can make people live in the middle of the city and save time traveling to their workplace. If every person builds their own house in the city, then people needs to live outside the city, this makes traffic pollution.

Building tall apartments has positive as well as negative aspects; building tall apartments in the middle of the city can make noise and also air pollution. Also, this can be the reason for traffic block. The other major problem is the sewage system, a tall building has always needs a modren sweage system. For making sewage system, this needs to be digging in the middle of roads and streets, this can make a people uncomfortable. The construction of a tall building in city can alwa

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You state a clear position in favour of tall apartment blocks and give relevant reasons, including making room for industry, reducing travel time and avoiding outward expansion. You also acknowledge disadvantages such as noise, pollution and pressure on sewage infrastructure, so the response engages with both sides of the issue. However, the task is only partially addressed: the reasons are mostly asserted rather than explained with examples or supporting detail, and the final point about construction appears unfinished. The response is 65 words below the required minimum, which leaves little space to develop your argument. To strengthen it, explain why high-rise housing is preferable to alternatives and support each main point with a specific example or consequence.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic overall structure: it introduces your view, gives advantages, and then considers disadvantages. This helps the reader identify the main direction of the argument. However, progression between ideas is limited, and the repeated opening “Building tall apartments” makes the paragraphs feel list-like rather than developed. Some connections are unclear, particularly the move from people building individual houses to living outside the city and causing pollution. The final sentence is cut off, which disrupts the ending. Use clearer topic sentences and link each reason to its explanation; for example, show how high-rise housing reduces urban land use before moving to its effects on commuting. A concluding paragraph would also give the response a more complete shape.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the central topic, with relevant terms such as “high-rise apartment blocks,” “land,” “traffic pollution” and “sewage system.” However, the range is limited and several phrases are repeated, especially “building tall apartments” and “in the city.” Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “allocate enough living space,” “traffic block” and “a people uncomfortable.” Spelling errors such as “modren” and “sweage” also reduce accuracy. Aim to use a wider set of precise housing and urban-planning terms, and check collocations and spelling. For instance, “provide sufficient housing” is more natural than “allocate enough living space,” while “traffic congestion” expresses the intended problem clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use mostly simple sentence patterns and make some attempts to connect clauses, as in “If every person builds their own house in the city, then people needs to live outside the city.” However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. Examples include the subject–verb disagreement in “people needs,” the faulty construction “a tall building has always needs,” and the run-on sentence joining the sewage-system explanation with commas. The final sentence is also incomplete. Practise accurate complex sentences using conditionals and cause-and-effect clauses, and separate complete ideas with full stops or semicolons. For example: “If housing is built at higher density, fewer residents may need to live on the outskirts.”

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