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)

Building tall apartments are very good solution to big cities. But I am partially agree with this. While tall apartments save a lot of space but I believe own traditional houses are necessary to live and cities should also provide independent houses for people.

On the on hand tall apartment are necessary in traditional cities like NEW YORK, PARIS, BERLIN, TOKYO and so on. Because they have good economics and better job opportunities that's why the thousands of people move there to come in every year for work that's why the demand increase significantly and the housing is very important while the land have more expensive to buy. Therefore the tall apartment buildings is a very good option to live because they have more space to live a thousands of families in small area. Therefore the apartments are the practical options to live in crowded cities

On the other hand just build tall apartments are not a good option because not all people want to live in same place because many people have different mindset they want to live different lifestyle many people prefer peaceful life, or quit environment. Sometimes living high rise apartment had crowded or noisy. Furthermore just build high rise building can made a traffic congestion in cities. Therefore local government should build both.

In conclusion building high rise apartment is necessary to accommodate for growing people in big cities but city planners should have to make traditional houses to satisfy everyone's need a live a healthy life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you partly agree that tall apartment blocks are useful, while arguing that cities should also provide traditional houses. Both sides are addressed, and the examples of large cities and the pressure on land support your main point. However, some ideas are less fully developed than others. For instance, you say that high-rise living can be noisy and that it can cause traffic congestion, but you do not explain how these problems arise or provide a specific example. The claim that people want different lifestyles is relevant but remains general. To strengthen the response, explain each main reason with a clear cause-and-effect link or a concrete example, and make your preferred balance of housing types more precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction states your position, two body paragraphs present contrasting considerations, and the conclusion restates your view. Phrases such as “On the other hand” and “In conclusion” help readers follow this structure. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical, particularly through repeated use of “Therefore” and “because,” and several ideas run together in long sentences. The opening of the second paragraph, “On the on hand,” also makes the transition less clear. Within paragraphs, connect each supporting point more explicitly and use pronouns or linking phrases with clear references. For example, separate the discussion of land costs from the benefits of accommodating many families, then explain how that supports your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “housing,” “demand,” “land,” “traffic congestion,” and “accommodate,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “high-rise apartment” and “independent houses.” However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or repetitive, which limits precision: “good economics,” “traditional cities,” and “quit environment” do not express the intended meanings naturally. The repeated use of “tall apartments” and “build” also narrows the range. Work on common housing collocations and check spelling and word forms; more accurate choices would make your argument clearer without requiring unusually advanced vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrastive structure beginning “While tall apartments save a lot of space” and sentences using “because” and “Furthermore.” This shows an effort to connect ideas rather than relying only on short statements. However, errors in agreement, articles, verb forms, and sentence construction are frequent enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. Examples include “Building tall apartments are,” “I am partially agree,” and “the land have more expensive to buy.” Several clauses are joined without clear punctuation, as in the long explanation of migration and housing demand. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement and complete clause patterns, and divide long sentences into shorter, controlled units.

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

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