Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-29

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)

As the population of large cities continues to increase, providing enough housing has become an important challenge. Some people believe that buliding tall apartment biock is the best solution. I largely agree with view because high-rise of buliding and can provied many homes while using less land, but I believe that other types of housing are necessary.

One major advantage of all apartment and buliding is that they can proived a large number of home on a relatively small area of land. land in major cities is often exponsive and limited, so buliding vertical is an efficient way to ues avaliable speae. For example, cities,such as mumbai and singapore have many high-rise residentai buliding becaues their high population density. This approach can also reduce urban sprawl and leave more land avalialc forpaks ans other public facilities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You state a relevant position—“I largely agree”—and give a clear reason: tall buildings can provide many homes on limited urban land. The example of Mumbai and Singapore also supports the point about high population density. However, the response addresses the task only minimally: it does not explain the qualification that “other types of housing are necessary,” and it offers no reasons or examples for that view. The main argument is only briefly developed, so the reader is left without a fuller explanation of how high-rise housing meets residents’ needs or what alternatives contribute. The response is also 114 words below the required minimum, which leaves important parts of the argument undeveloped. Extend both sides of your position with specific explanations and relevant examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall structure: an introduction presents your position, followed by a paragraph explaining one advantage. The link from limited land to building vertically is understandable, and “For example” signals supporting evidence. However, there is no concluding paragraph, and the promised qualification about other housing types is not developed, so the progression feels incomplete. Some connections are also awkward, such as “This approach can also reduce urban sprawl” following the example without explaining the relationship. Build a clear sequence of paragraphs—position, developed supporting reasons, qualification or counterpoint, and conclusion—and use referencing and linking phrases to show how each point relates to your argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt some topic-specific language, including “population density,” “urban sprawl,” “high-rise,” and “public facilities,” which helps communicate the subject. However, the range is limited and several spelling and word-choice errors make parts difficult to read, for example “buliding,” “proived,” “exponsive,” and “avaliable.” Some combinations are also unnatural, such as “high-rise of buliding” and “building vertical.” These errors are more than occasional and reduce the clarity of otherwise relevant ideas. Check spelling carefully and learn common collocations for housing and urban planning, such as “construct high-rise apartment blocks,” “limited land supply,” and “residential buildings.” Aim to use a wider range of accurate terms rather than repeating “building” and “land.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple sentences and some attempts at more complex structures, including “As the population of large cities continues to increase…” and “because high-rise … can provide many homes while using less land.” The main meaning is generally recoverable, but grammatical control is uneven. For example, “I largely agree with view” is missing a determiner, and “a large number of home” has a plural-agreement error. The sentence beginning “For example, cities…” also has unclear punctuation and sentence construction. Practise accurate articles, plural forms, and sentence boundaries, then check each sentence for a clear subject and verb. More reliable control of these patterns would make your argument easier to follow.

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

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