Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The most effective method to give houses in urban areas is considered to be constructing tall building blocks. In my opinion, I agree that building tall apartment blocks is the best way, as it saves land and its construction costs and is also available at cheap rates to people.

One of the main reasons to agree with this is that only a small piece of land is used. If separate houses are built for each family, then a great space or land is required. For example, to adjust four families under one building is far better than to build separate homes. In addition to that, construction costs also reduce. As a result, there will be no congestion in big cities, which are already congested.

The second reason is that there will be less burden on people to rent a home. As people from the countryside move to urban areas in search of better job opportunities and better lifestyles, they need homes urgently. If high apartment blocks are built, then they will rent these apartments to people at low prices. As separate homes cost a lot to rent, most of the people cannot afford these. Consequently, apartments are available at cheap rates, and people can now only focus on their jobs.

In conclusion, building tall apartment blocks not only saves land but also saves its construction costs. On the other hand, these apartments are easily available to people at low prices, and they can easily afford them.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you agree that tall apartment blocks are the best solution, and you give two relevant reasons—saving land and reducing housing costs. The example comparing four families in one building with separate homes helps illustrate the first point. However, the explanation that this will mean “there will be no congestion” is too broad and is not clearly supported; apartment blocks may reduce land use without eliminating congestion. The affordability point also needs more development, such as explaining how building costs translate into lower rents. The response is also four words below the required minimum, so it does not fully meet the task’s length instruction. Develop the examples and qualify broad claims to make the argument more convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present separate reasons, and a conclusion restates your position. Signposting such as “One of the main reasons,” “The second reason,” and “In conclusion” makes the progression easy to follow. However, some links between ideas are mechanical or unclear. For instance, “As a result, there will be no congestion” does not follow directly from the point about construction costs, and “On the other hand” introduces no genuine contrast in the conclusion. The repeated use of “As a result,” “Consequently,” and “In addition to that” also makes cohesion somewhat formulaic. Use more precise links and ensure each concluding claim follows logically from the supporting explanation.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate your main ideas, including “urban areas,” “construction costs,” “congested,” and “job opportunities.” However, several phrases are imprecise or unnatural, which limits the clarity and flexibility of your vocabulary. “Give houses” does not express the intended idea naturally, while “a great space or land” and “adjust four families” are awkward choices. “Cheap rates” is repeated, and “high apartment blocks” is not the usual expression for tall buildings. Aim for more accurate collocations and avoid repeating the same wording for affordability. More precise vocabulary would help you explain the housing argument clearly without changing your overall meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “If separate houses are built…” and “If high apartment blocks are built…”. Most of the meaning remains understandable, but some grammatical choices are inaccurate or awkward. In “it saves land and its construction costs,” the pronoun “its” does not clearly refer to the intended subject; “saves on construction costs” would form the pattern more clearly. The sentence beginning “As people from the countryside move…” is long and would benefit from clearer clause structure. There is also a mismatch in “there will be less burden on people to rent a home,” where the relationship between burden and renting is not expressed accurately. Practise controlling clause links and grammatical patterns in longer sentences.

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

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