Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-02

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 6.5)

With growing populations, urban areas are not being able to provide enough homes for people to live in. Some people have expressed the idea that building tall apartment blocks is the best way to fix this issue. While I believe that building apartment blocks will help solve the problem to some extent, I do not think it is the most effective method.

On one hand, building apartment buildings will utilize the space in cities much more efficiently and create more areas for people to move into. Additionally, building infrastructures of an increased height will raise the number of apartments in each building providing more homes for people. For example, if 3 buildings are made with 8 floors each it will be able to provide housing for 24 individuals.

On the other hand, with the level of over-population in some cities it may not be possible to provide accomodation for everyone. There still may be a surplus of people in these cities so many people will be homeless and lack shelter. Furthermore, people may lack the financial stability to live in these apartments. As a result, a large majority of people may end up on the streets despite having a place to stay. For example, there are a lot of vacant apartments in Bangladesh but people do not have the financial ability to afford these homes and end up living on the streets.

Taking all these points into consideration, I disagree with the statement that the best way to provide homes in large cities is by building tall apartment blocks. I believe that we should prioritize improving living standards as well as creating new spaces to live so that people are able to afford these apartments and utilise them.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the introduction to the conclusion: tall apartment blocks can help, but you disagree that they are the best solution. You address both their space-saving benefit and the limits of relying on them, so the response remains relevant to the question. The explanation that more floors create more homes is supported with a simple example. However, some points are less fully developed: the claim that there may still be homelessness largely repeats the problem, and the Bangladesh example would be stronger with clearer detail about why vacant homes remain unaffordable or what alternatives could help. Develop the comparison with other ways to provide housing to make your argument more convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear, logical structure: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present contrasting considerations, and the conclusion restates your position. Transitions such as “On one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “Taking all these points into consideration” make the progression easy to follow. The ideas within each paragraph are generally ordered sensibly, and examples are placed alongside the points they support. To make the organisation more flexible and less formulaic, vary the way you link ideas rather than relying mainly on explicit signposting. Also clarify the connection between “a surplus of people” and homelessness, and between vacant apartments and affordability, so the reader can follow the reasoning without having to infer the link.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “urban areas,” “apartment blocks,” “over-population,” “financial stability,” and “living standards.” These choices communicate the main ideas clearly, and phrases such as “utilize the space…more efficiently” show an attempt to express the benefits precisely. Some wording is repetitive or not quite natural, however: “building apartment buildings” repeats the same idea, while “create more areas for people to move into” is vague. There is also a spelling error in “accomodation.” Aim for more precise housing-related collocations and check spelling carefully; this would make your argument sound more controlled without changing its meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex forms, including a concession in “While I believe…” and conditional structures such as “if 3 buildings are made…”. Most sentences are understandable, and the grammar does not obstruct your argument. Some errors and awkward constructions remain. For example, “urban areas are not being able to provide” is an unnatural verb construction; “urban areas are unable to provide” is more accurate. In “it will be able to provide housing,” the pronoun does not clearly agree with the plural subject “3 buildings.” The sentence beginning “Additionally” also needs clearer punctuation or restructuring around “providing.” Practise checking subject–verb and pronoun agreement, and revise longer sentences to ensure each clause is grammatically connected.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.