Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-24

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 best way to provide enough homes in large cities is to build tall apartment blocks. In my opinion, the buildings in big cities must built upward instead of rows. By building tall buildings means, there can be separate house for a lot of families.The apartment buildings take less space and provide equal facilities.Like, we can see that New York city is one of the best example of building tall buildings instead of separate homes.In this way, there can be a lot of spare land which can be used for other purposes. On the other hand, if we see that every one has separate homes it will take a lot of space and the city will become more populated. For example, in Pakistan the largest city is Karachi.It does not have any developmental plans. It lacks tall buildings which has resulted in overly crowded city. The best way to make developments in any city is to make its populated areas less crowded by buildings.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You give a clear opinion that cities should build upwards, and you offer relevant points: apartment blocks use less land, while separate homes can contribute to crowding. The references to New York and Karachi also attempt to illustrate your view. However, the response is very brief and does not develop these ideas sufficiently; for example, the claim that tall buildings provide “equal facilities” is not explained, and the Karachi example is asserted rather than linked in detail to housing policy. The response contains 148 words, below the required 250; 16 words copied from the task prompt were not counted. This leaves the task only minimally addressed, with limited explanation and support. Develop each reason and example in more depth.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic line of argument: it supports building upwards, gives a benefit, then contrasts this with separate homes and refers to Karachi. Connectors such as “On the other hand” and “For example” help signal relationships between points. However, the ideas are crowded into one paragraph, so there is no clear overall progression or separation between the main argument and examples. Some links are also awkward or repetitive, such as “In this way” followed by “On the other hand,” without a fully developed transition. Organise the essay into an introduction, separate body paragraphs for your reasons, and a conclusion. Use linking phrases only where they clarify how one idea follows from another.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough basic topic vocabulary to communicate the central idea, including “apartment blocks,” “families,” “space,” and “crowded.” The examples also show an attempt to discuss urban development rather than relying entirely on general statements. However, the vocabulary is limited and several expressions are imprecise or repetitive: “tall buildings” appears repeatedly, while “make developments” and “separate house” do not express the intended ideas naturally. “Overly crowded city” is understandable, but more precise wording would strengthen the discussion of housing and urban density. Build a wider range of accurate collocations, such as terms for housing supply, land use, and population density, and vary repeated words where appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, and the main position is generally understandable. However, the range of structures is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to affect fluency. For example, “the buildings in big cities must built upward” is missing a passive verb form, while “By building tall buildings means” has an incomplete construction. There are also errors in articles and agreement, as in “a lot of families” after “separate house” and “one of the best example.” Sentence boundaries and spacing need attention too, as in “families.The” and “Karachi.It.” Practise forming complete sentences with accurate verb patterns, articles, and plural agreement, then proofread punctuation.

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