Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-30

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 6.0)

It is widely acknowledged that tall apartments should be constructed in order to overcome the housing challenge in urban areas. I largely agree with this as it has several benefits: it tackles the shortage of residential areas and it is cost effective as well.

The population is rising significantly and a large number of individuals are moving to cities for better facilities: educational opportunities, healthcare and public facilities etc. This development has led to the overcrowding of the urban areas. Consequently, individuals are facing a pressing issue of lack of houses. Thus, to overcome this issue, high-rise buildings with multiple blocks are being developed as it can accommodate a large group of people without covering more land. For instance, New York is one of the largest cities of the US and contains large number of population. Therefore, the buildings located over there are high-rise each comprising small apartments. Which, in turn, help in accommodating the populace.

An other benefit is this development is it is cost effective. Individuals who are from rural areas and are not from affluent background are unable to afford a house in modern times. Therefore, small apartment block are relatively cheaper and affordable. A clear example of this is students who often migrate from different places or countries to gain knowledge and prosper in their career and simultaneously they work part-time jobs as well to make ends meet. They usually live in a single-room apartment as its rent is low. It is easier for them to manage their living.

In conclusion, rather than constructed large houses, high-rise buildings with multiple blocks are more beneficial as it aids in overcoming the shortage of houses. In addition, it is cheaper for the individuals who are not from a wealthy background.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the introduction: you largely agree because high-rise housing can accommodate more people on less land and may be more affordable. Both reasons are relevant, and the New York and student-housing examples help illustrate them. This fits the task because you explain why tall buildings can address urban housing needs. However, the affordability point is not fully connected to building tall blocks: lower rent in a small apartment is asserted, but you do not explain how high-rise construction itself makes housing cheaper. The response also gives little consideration to whether tall blocks are the best way to provide enough homes, rather than simply one useful approach. Develop that link and support your claims with more precise explanation to make the argument more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting separate benefits, and a conclusion that restates your position. The progression from population growth to housing pressure is easy to follow, and connectors such as “Consequently,” “Therefore,” and “In conclusion” signal relationships between ideas. At times, however, linking feels mechanical, with “Therefore” repeated, and some references are unclear. For example, “Which, in turn, help in accommodating the populace” is a sentence fragment, while “this development” in the affordability paragraph does not clearly identify whether you mean high-rise construction or urban development generally. Use a wider range of natural transitions and make each paragraph’s links between claim, explanation, and example more explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “overcrowding,” “high-rise buildings,” “accommodate,” and “affluent background,” which helps communicate the main ideas. Some less common expressions are attempted, but word choice and collocation are not consistently natural. “Shortage of residential areas” would be more precise as a shortage of housing, and “large number of population” is an awkward phrase. There are also errors such as “An other” and “small apartment block,” which affect accuracy. Repetition of “individuals,” “issue,” and “buildings” limits flexibility. Aim for precise housing-related collocations and vary repeated nouns, while checking spelling and singular/plural forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including cause-and-effect structures such as “Consequently, individuals are facing…” and a relative clause in “students who often migrate…”. Most ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. In “high-rise buildings… are being developed as it can accommodate,” the pronoun does not agree with the plural subject; “Which, in turn, help…” is an incomplete sentence; and “An other benefit is this development is it is cost effective” has a faulty clause structure. Articles and plurals also need attention, as in “contains large number of population” and “small apartment block.” Review sentence boundaries and agreement, and edit complex sentences to ensure each clause is complete and correctly connected.

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