Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-30

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In many places, new homes are needed, but the only space available for building them is in the countryside. Some people believe it is more important to protect the countryside and not build new homes there.

What is your opinion about this?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The demand for residential property is soaring on the outskirts of cities. Certain section of society opine that preserving the greenfield land is utmost priority instead of building new housing infrastructure. While housing shortages present a formidable challenge, I firmly believe in bridging the rural-urban divide through integrated development, incorporating both housing and transport infrastructure.

Amidst the growing demand for new residential property, halting construction on the outskirts of a city overlooks, the severe demographic pressures facing modern cities. Moreover, changes in demography of the undeveloped lands brings prosperity, robust connnectivity and new opportunity of business in that particular area. For an example, Gujarat government started smart city initiative to integrating the rural and urban places with incorporating transport facilities, multinational companies, housing colonies and highway connectivity to build smart cities.

However, to ensure this expansion does not result in widespread environmental degradation, urban planners must adopt low-impact, sustainable development models. Eco-friendly construction should be promoted, such as prohibition on using of agricultural land, usage of non-agricultural land to prevent massive deforestation. Providing better incentives to landowners, whome goverment bought the land from. By integrating high-capacity public transit networks directly into new residential zones, the carbon footprint of the community is drastically minimized.

To conclude, growth in this modern era is inevite

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, as it contains only 212 words and is incomplete, ending abruptly in the conclusion. While you present a clear position and address the prompt, the under-length and the lack of a finished conclusion significantly impact the development of your ideas. To improve, you must ensure you fully expand on your arguments and complete the essay structure. The ideas regarding 'demographic pressures' and 'sustainable development' are relevant, but they require more detailed explanation and supporting evidence to reach a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a logical progression of ideas, with clear paragraphing used to separate the introduction, body, and conclusion. You make use of cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'However', and 'To conclude' to link your points. However, the abrupt ending disrupts the overall flow. Referencing is generally clear, but the mechanical nature of some transitions could be improved by using more varied linking phrases to connect sentences more fluidly. The structure is sufficient for a coherent response, but the incomplete nature of the final paragraph prevents a higher score.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'demographic pressures', 'environmental degradation', and 'integrated development'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'new opportunity of business' (should be 'opportunities') and 'whome goverment bought' (should be 'whom'). While you attempt to use less common vocabulary, the spelling errors (e.g., 'connnectivity', 'inevite') and occasional awkward phrasing suggest a need for more precise control. Expanding your range of academic collocations would help elevate your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'Certain section of society' (missing article), 'changes in demography... brings' (subject-verb agreement), and 'prohibition on using of' (incorrect preposition). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are errors like the unnecessary comma after 'overlooks'. The majority of your sentences are understandable, but the frequency of these minor errors prevents a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and article usage will significantly improve your accuracy.

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