Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-23

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)

Home shortage is really an importnat issue everbody faces in their lifetime at least once. Most likely many people face this kind of problems in urban areas where a lot of population is already living. Everyone wants to have a suitable accomodation for themselves that's why most people have to face the shortage of homes.

I personally think that building tall apartments will not solve the issue of enough homes. In fact, I believe that it will eventually increase the issue of dense population living at a particular place. If most people started living in apartments they will face somekind of suffocation in their apartments. In contrast, if people started living in thier personal spaces or rooms they more likely to feel comfortable and relaxed.

Furthermore, there are also other benefits of not building tall apartments to solve the issue of accomodation. As we know cities or urban areas are already densed and very populated so putting more and more popultaion in the buildings will increase more problems. If I quote people who are really facing this kind of issues I would say they are all exhausted from their living space. A lot of people prefer to live in simple houses just to live like an average person and want simple life not a conjusted and suffocated life.

I will conclude it by saying that instead of building tall apartments we should focus on building more houses for the accomodation space. As houses are far better than the tall buildings to live in so I think it would be better to have more houses for the issue of accomodation space.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You give a clear overall disagreement, especially in “building tall apartments will not solve the issue,” and you stay focused on housing and urban density. However, the response only partially develops the task: the main reasons are that apartments may feel crowded and that people prefer houses, but these claims are broad and are not supported with a specific example or explanation of how alternative housing could provide enough homes in large cities. The statement asks about the best way to meet housing demand, so compare tall blocks with a realistic alternative, such as building medium-rise homes or expanding housing in less crowded areas. Explain the trade-offs and support your position with a concrete example to make the argument more convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “In fact,” “Furthermore” and “I will conclude” help signal the stages of your argument. However, progression is limited because the body paragraphs repeat the same points about density, discomfort and preference for houses rather than developing distinct reasons. Some connections are also unclear: “In contrast” introduces a comparison, but the relationship between apartment living and “personal spaces or rooms” is not fully explained. Plan one main idea for each paragraph, then develop it with a reason and an example. Use referencing and transitions to show how each point advances your answer, rather than relying mainly on signposting phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “home shortage,” “urban areas,” “population” and “living space,” so the reader can follow your general meaning. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation and spelling problems make the writing less precise. For example, “dense population living at a particular place” and “increase more problems” are awkward, while “conjusted” and “accomodation” are misspelled. Repetition of “tall apartments,” “houses” and “issue” also restricts variety. Build a small set of accurate topic phrases, such as “housing demand,” “high-density development” and “residential space,” and check spelling and collocations. More precise vocabulary would help you explain the advantages and disadvantages of different housing options.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “where,” “if” and “as,” and your main position is generally understandable. However, control is uneven, particularly in longer sentences. For instance, “If most people started living in apartments they will face” shifts from a past-form conditional to “will”; use “would face” to keep the pattern consistent. In “they more likely to feel comfortable,” the verb “are” is missing, and “a lot of population is already living” has an awkward agreement and structure. Review conditional forms, subject–verb agreement and complete verb phrases. Breaking some long sentences into shorter, accurately controlled ones would also make your reasoning easier to follow.

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

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