Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

It is often argued that tall apartment blocks are the best solution for providing enough housing in big cities. However, others believe that will not solve the problem. This essay will discuss both perspectives before presenting my opinion.

On the one hand, there are several reasons why people support tall apartments. First of all, land in big cities is very expensive, by building vertically developers can provide can provide homes for many families, and it helps to accomplish population. In addition, living in high-rise building makes it easier for the government to provide public service like buses and trains and electricity, which further strengthens this overview.

On the other hand, many poeple argue that living in high-rise blocks can create a feeling of isolation, and people may miss having a garden or an outdoor space. Moreover, if too many people live in one building, it can cause problems with elevators, parking spaces. As a result from my perspective, building tall apartments is not the only solution for enough homes.

In conclusion, although both views have their own merits, I believe that country should provide more spaces more than building tall blocks. overall, this approach is more beneficial in the long term.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address the topic by presenting reasons for high-rise housing and concerns about it, then state that it should not be the only solution. However, the position is not fully clear: the introduction promises to discuss both perspectives, while the conclusion says cities should provide “more spaces” rather than explaining what alternative you support or how it compares with apartment blocks. The supporting ideas are also limited and under-developed. For example, you mention expensive land and public services, but do not explain how these benefits make high-rise construction the best way to meet demand. The response is also 49 words below the required minimum, which limits the opportunity to develop your reasons and examples. Add specific support and make your degree of agreement explicit throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall arrangement: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting contrasting points, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” helps readers follow the broad structure. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear or mechanical. The sentence about expensive land joins several ideas with commas, and “which further strengthens this overview” does not clearly refer to a specific point. The conclusion also introduces “more spaces” without connecting this proposal to the earlier discussion. Use clearer links between each claim and its explanation, and ensure pronouns and summary phrases refer unambiguously to ideas already stated.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “tall apartment blocks,” “high-rise building,” “land,” “public service,” and “isolation.” There is also some attempt to vary expressions, such as “living vertically” and “outdoor space.” However, the range is limited and several word-choice or collocation problems make parts of the argument unclear: “accomplish population” does not express the intended idea, and “strengthens this overview” is not a natural way to describe the benefit of public services. “More spaces more than building tall blocks” is also difficult to interpret. Check spelling, as in “poeple,” and choose precise phrases that express housing capacity, infrastructure provision, and alternatives to high-rise development.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrastive opening and clauses introduced by “which” and “if.” The main message is generally understandable, but errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. For example, “However, others believe that will not solve the problem” is missing a subject after “that,” while “by building vertically developers can provide can provide homes” contains a repeated verb and an unclear sentence structure. There are also problems with articles and number, as in “living in high-rise building” and “public service,” and the comma splice in “land in big cities is very expensive, by building vertically…” obscures the relationship between ideas. Practise accurate clause joining and check articles, plurals, and sentence boundaries.

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