Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-25

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)

In my opinion this is a great solution to adjust majority of population in limited space by this more people will be able to come to big cities to earn well and grow well. The Ratio of homeless people will also reduce in big cities but the major drawback that i am seeing in building tall buildings is safety and minimum space for people ,in case of earthquake these tall buildings wont last enough to bear a high altitude earthquake and end up in a disaster.let me give you an example,In Big countries like china where the population is around 150 crores . The government started building tall apartment blocks to properly use the minimum space and adjust more people .If we think positively ,This is a very goodinitiative by government to adjust a very large amount of population to provide them homes. Now we we look at the other side of building tall buildings, in most cases people have to adjust in very small apartments.They are even that tiny,if a natural disaster occurs it will be difficult for people to evacuate the building very fastly. Also when a natural disaster like corona virus appeared china was the first country where it increased rapidly because people were living in aprtments, were close enough to remain in contact with other people so the virus was able to spread with significant speed. Now we have explored both sides of a story Good or bad in my opinion i support tall buildings but only if they are built with strict measurements and laws to not build without emergency exit, provide enough space for individuals . By ths the big cities will be able to contribute in economy and decrease the ratio of homeless people in the country.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You give a clear, qualified position: you support tall apartment blocks provided they are built under strict safety rules. You also address both the benefit of using limited urban space and concerns about safety, evacuation and disease transmission, so the response remains relevant to the question. The China example helps illustrate your point, although the population figure and claims about the spread of coronavirus are presented broadly and would be more convincing with precise, reliable support. Some ideas are less fully developed than others: for example, you mention that apartments offer “minimum space” but do not explain how this affects whether high-rise construction is the best way to provide enough homes. Develop each reason with a clearer explanation or example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an overall progression from the advantages of high-rise housing to its drawbacks and then to your conditional conclusion. Phrases such as “Now we look at the other side” signal a change in direction, and the final sentence returns to your position. However, the ideas are presented in one long paragraph, making the stages of the argument difficult to distinguish. Some linking is also mechanical or unclear: “If we think positively” and “Now we have explored both sides of a story” announce the structure rather than smoothly connecting the reasoning. Divide the essay into an introduction, separate body paragraphs for benefits and concerns, and a conclusion. Use clear references and transitions to show how each example supports the point being made.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “apartment blocks,” “natural disaster,” “evacuate,” and “emergency exit,” which helps communicate the main ideas. There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “contribute in economy,” though the collocation is inaccurate. Word choice and spelling errors are noticeable and sometimes make the reader pause: “adjust majority of population,” “fastly,” “apr tments” (written as “aprtments”), and “goodinitiative” are examples. Some expressions are vague or repetitive, particularly “big cities” and “tall buildings.” Aim for more precise collocations and check spelling and word forms; for instance, describe housing as “accommodate a larger urban population” and say that a city “contributes to the economy.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including conditional reasoning in “if they are built with strict measurements and laws” and a sentence explaining what might happen during a disaster. However, control is uneven: several sentences run together without appropriate punctuation, and some structures are difficult to follow. For example, “The major drawback that i am seeing in building tall buildings is safety and minimum space for people, in case of earthquake…” joins separate ideas without a clear grammatical connection. There are also errors with articles, agreement and sentence boundaries, as in “a natural disaster like corona virus appeared china.” Use full stops to separate complete ideas, and practise accurate clauses with articles and prepositions, such as “if an earthquake occurs” and “the virus spread rapidly.”

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