Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-31

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)

In recent years, the rapid growth of urban populations has increased the demand for affordable housing in major cities. To counter this, many people believe that building tall apartment blocks in large cities can provide enough homes for everyone.

I believe that is not the right way. As an architecture student, I can clearly understand that people look for an easy solution every time, but with high-rise buildings, we have to face different challenges like fire, accessibility to the top floors, earthquakes and structural details while maintaining load-bearing capacity.

I disagree with the idea that building tall apartments to provide a home may be a solution to one problem, but it will create many more problems in future.

For example, many cities do not allow high-rise structures built on their soil, which will impact their local vernacular architecture, which will impact the local design surroundings, and many more. Tall buildings are always risky in case of fire and earthquakes because people do not have enough space to escape, and this might lead to a disaster.

Tall buildings always come with safety issues. Instead of building tall buildings in cities, we should focus on the development of local and rural areas so people do not have to migrate. Tall buildings also have the largest carbon footprint, which is not good for nature.

In conclusion, Tall apartment blocks might solve one problem of housing, but they will create many other problems for society that are not reversible, so the number of consequences outweighs the number of advantages in my opinion.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear: you disagree that tall apartment blocks are the best solution, and you give relevant reasons, including safety risks, effects on local architecture, and the environmental impact. The opening and conclusion reinforce this view, while your architecture-student perspective adds a personal basis for the argument. This meets the task well, but the support is uneven: fire and earthquake risks are mentioned more than once, whereas the claim about carbon footprint and the proposal to develop rural areas are not explained or illustrated. To strengthen the response further, compare high-rise housing with a specific alternative and develop each reason with a clear example or explanation. This would make the argument more fully extended rather than relying on broad claims.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure, moving from an introduction to reasons and a conclusion, and the reader can follow your disagreement. Paragraphing separates the main points, and phrases such as “For example” and “In conclusion” signal the direction of the essay. However, progression within the body is less controlled: safety concerns recur in adjacent paragraphs, while the shift from architectural effects to rural development and carbon emissions is abrupt. The repeated “which will impact” also makes the example feel circular rather than developed. Group related reasons into focused paragraphs and use clearer links to show how each point supports your position. More precise referencing and less repetitive linking would make the organisation smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “urban populations,” “vernacular architecture,” “load-bearing capacity,” and “carbon footprint.” These terms help communicate relevant ideas, and the meaning is generally clear. Some choices and combinations are imprecise or repetitive, however: “provide a home” is less natural than “provide housing,” and “built on their soil” is an awkward way to describe construction restrictions. “The local design surroundings” is also unclear, while “Tall buildings” is repeated several times. Aim for more precise collocations and vary repeated terms with suitable alternatives such as “high-rise developments” or “residential towers.” This would improve flexibility and accuracy without requiring unnecessarily complex vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex forms, including the conditional construction “if people do not have enough space to escape” and the contrast in “Instead of building tall buildings … we should focus…”. Most sentences communicate your meaning, but some grammatical and punctuation issues remain. For example, “I believe that is not the right way” would be clearer as “I believe this is not the right approach,” and the sentence beginning “I disagree with the idea…” is awkwardly joined and needs restructuring. Capitalisation is inconsistent in “In conclusion, Tall apartment blocks,” and the long sentence about local architecture contains repeated clauses that are difficult to control. Use a wider range of accurately formed sentences and check sentence boundaries and punctuation to improve clarity.

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