Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-28

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 any urban areas, populations are densly increasing day by day. To give people the opportunity tu buy houses at lower cost and to ensure all the basic availibilites in one place, I agree that building verticle apartments are the better option.

Building tall apartment blocks can provide people the opportunity to buy houses at lower cost. Although many people in metropolitan cities like lahore or karachi came from rural areas often for employment. Vertical apartment blocks will be better option for them, because it will provide all the basic needs like water and gas at lower cost. To support them more and to ensure a balance life, i thing apartments will be luxorious option for them.

On the other hand, building tall apartments can be sometime boring. The first reason is that it will be less secure at the time of disasters such as earthquakes. Another reason is that it lacks gardens and a proper place or exersizing. Many peoples often want to refresh themselves after stressed jobs with activities such as playing sports and focusing on fitness, which are unable to be achieve in vertical apartments.

In conclusion, building apartments can have many disadvantages such as being unfit in the disaster and lacks proper gardening and sports sections, although it can saves many land for agriculture and provide middle class people the opportunity to buy house at lower cost.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your position is clear: you agree that tall apartment blocks are a better way to provide housing, and you give relevant reasons, including lower costs and access to basic services. You also acknowledge drawbacks such as earthquake risk and limited space for gardens or exercise. However, the response addresses the issue only partially: the reasons are asserted rather than explained in depth, and the conclusion introduces saving agricultural land without developing this point earlier. The comparison with other ways of providing homes in large cities is also limited. The response is 19 words below the required minimum, which leaves less room to extend and support your ideas. Develop each main reason with a specific explanation or example, and make the conclusion reflect the argument already presented.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph supporting apartments, a paragraph presenting disadvantages, and a conclusion. The contrast marker “On the other hand” helps signal the shift to drawbacks, while “In conclusion” clearly marks the ending. This coherent overall arrangement supports the reader. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear: the sentence beginning “Although many people…” is not completed as a full contrast, and the link between lower costs and “a balance life” is not explained. Some connections, such as “Another reason,” are functional but mechanical. Improve cohesion by making each paragraph develop one central point in a clear sequence, and use reference words or linking phrases only where their relationship is precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “metropolitan cities,” “employment,” “disasters,” and “agriculture,” and you attempt more specific expressions such as “vertical apartment blocks.” This gives you enough range to communicate the main ideas. However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable and sometimes make the reader pause: “densly,” “availibilites,” “verticle,” and “exersizing” are examples. Some combinations are also unnatural, such as “luxorious option” and “balance life,” while “boring” is imprecise for describing a possible disadvantage of high-rise housing. Aim for accurate spelling and more natural collocations, such as “affordable housing,” “access to essential services,” and “recreational facilities.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a concession with “Although” and a relative clause in “Many peoples often want to refresh themselves…”. The main message is generally understandable, but some errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles, and verb forms remain. For example, “Although many people… came from rural areas often for employment” is a dependent clause without a complete main clause, and “building apartments… can saves” has incorrect verb form. In “it lacks gardens,” the pronoun reference is unclear, and “which are unable to be achieve” has an incorrect passive construction. Practise completing subordinate clauses and checking subject–verb agreement and verb forms. More accurate control of these patterns would make your ideas easier to follow.

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

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