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)

Urban population growth have become one of the significant problem in the major cities in the world. Therefore buidling tall apartment blocks is one of the best way to provide enough houses in large cities. Although these apartment complex has some disadvatages, I believe that the building of high-rise apartment has more benefits because it uses limited landscapes sustainably in the large cities.

One of the main advantages of bilding high-rise apartment is that one apartment complex consists of numerous of houses within limited area instead of traditional horizontal houses. Therefore it provides accomodation for numerous number of residents. It is essential for residents in large cities because living in the cities gives make thier life more convinient. For example horizontal houses give accomodation for limited number of people, with high cost due to limited use of area.In addition use of air space is one of the great sustainable solution. As a results, high rise apartment is the best solution for large cities to provides houses for residents.

Another important benefit is that build tall apartments allows govermnets to supply facilities such as electricity, water to compress area instead of large area, making it more convinient.

As a results, it reduced the considerable amount of sum from government.

However, these high-rise apartment has some disadvantages. The area is always crowded and noisy, making less privacy atmosphere. Illegal situations such as thief, criminal may increased due to crowded environment.

In conclusion, although rise-rise apartment complex has some drawbacks, I believe that its advantages outweight its drawbacks.In addition, building tall apartment block is the best solution to assist urban population growth.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you support tall apartment blocks because they use limited urban land efficiently, and you acknowledge disadvantages. The points about accommodating many residents and reducing the area needed for utilities are relevant to the question. However, the discussion is only partly developed: the example contrasting high-rise and horizontal housing is general, and the claim that city living makes life more convenient is not explained. The disadvantages—noise, reduced privacy and crime—are listed but not explored or weighed against the benefits. To strengthen the response, explain how these effects arise and support key claims with a specific example, while making the comparison with other housing approaches more precise. This would make the argument more fully addressed and developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two benefit-focused paragraphs, a paragraph on drawbacks and a conclusion. This helps the reader follow your overall position. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven: the second benefit paragraph is very brief, while the first moves from housing capacity to convenience and then to air space without fully connecting these points. Linking phrases such as “Therefore” and “As a result” are repeated, and some transitions do not clearly show how one claim follows from another. The conclusion repeats the position but adds little synthesis. Group related ideas more tightly, develop each paragraph around one main point, and use clearer references and a wider range of linking methods to improve the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use vocabulary relevant to urban housing, including “high-rise apartment,” “limited area,” “facilities” and “crowded environment,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “uses limited landscapes sustainably.” However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation and spelling errors make the writing less natural: “numerous of houses,” “limited landscapes,” “compress area,” and “rise-rise apartment complex” are examples. Spelling errors such as “buidling,” “disadvatages” and “govermnets” are noticeable. Aim for accurate, natural combinations such as “a large number of homes,” “limited urban land” and “a compact area,” and proofread carefully. More precise vocabulary would help distinguish your points.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a concession in “Although these apartment complex has some disadvantages” and a participial clause in “making less privacy atmosphere.” These attempts show some range, but errors occur frequently and can make parts of the argument difficult to follow. For example, “Urban population growth have become” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “these apartment complex has” has agreement and number errors. “It provides accommodation” shifts awkwardly from plural residents to a singular subject, and “to provides houses” uses the wrong verb form. Review agreement, articles, plurals and infinitive patterns, and check punctuation and spacing between sentences. Building shorter, accurate sentences first will help you express complex ideas more clearly.

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

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