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?
Same question Compare all 3 answers See different approaches and band scores for this IELTS task.Sample Response
As populations in major cities rise, finding sufficient housing has become increasingly difficult. Although high-rise apartment buildings are an important part of the solution, I disagree that they are the best answer on their own. Cities should combine carefully planned tall buildings with other forms of development.
There are clear advantages to building upwards in crowded urban areas. Land in city centres is scarce and expensive, so a tower can accommodate many households on a small site. This can allow residents to live close to workplaces, public transport and essential services, rather than travelling long distances from the outskirts. For example, an apartment block near a railway station may reduce both housing pressure and traffic congestion. Providing many homes in one location can also make it cheaper for authorities to extend water, electricity and transport networks.
However, an exclusive focus on tall blocks can create serious problems. If they are poorly designed or built without enough shared space, residents may experience overcrowding, limited green areas and a weaker sense of community. Families with children and older people may find small flats and lifts inconvenient. Furthermore, concentrating thousands of people in one development can place pressure on schools, clinics and roads nearby. Some cities have constructed impressive towers but neglected the public facilities needed to support the people living there.
A more balanced policy would use high-rise housing where land is most limited, while also encouraging medium-density homes, renovation of unused buildings and expansion around transport links. Planning rules should require parks, shops and community facilities alongside new apartment blocks.
In conclusion, tall buildings are an efficient method of increasing housing supply in large cities, but they should not be treated as the single best answer. A mixture of housing types and well-planned infrastructure is more likely to create liveable urban communities.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use concise phrasing Original: populations in major cities rise Suggested revision: urban populations grow Why it matters: This replacement expresses the same idea more compactly and naturally.
- 2. Clarify the challenge Original: finding sufficient housing Suggested revision: providing enough housing Why it matters: Providing better reflects the city-level supply problem discussed in the essay.
- 3. Sharpen the wording Original: best answer on their own Suggested revision: best solution by themselves Why it matters: Solution is more precise here, and themselves refers clearly to the plural buildings.
- 4. Use precise adverb Original: building upwards Suggested revision: building vertically Why it matters: Vertically is a more formal and exact description of high-rise development.
- 5. Use direct construction Original: This can allow Suggested revision: This enables Why it matters: The direct verb removes an unnecessary modal construction without changing the claim.
- 6. Clarify the noun phrase Original: housing pressure Suggested revision: pressure on the housing supply Why it matters: The expanded phrase specifies what kind of pressure the development may reduce.
- 7. Use formal phrasing Original: make it cheaper for authorities to extend Suggested revision: reduce the cost to authorities of extending Why it matters: This formulation states the financial effect more precisely.
- 8. Use concise wording Original: an exclusive focus Suggested revision: a sole focus Why it matters: Sole conveys the idea of exclusivity more economically.
- 9. Improve collocation Original: limited green areas Suggested revision: insufficient green space Why it matters: Green space is the standard collective term in urban-planning writing.
- 10. Clarify the inconvenience Original: small flats and lifts Suggested revision: small flats and reliance on lifts Why it matters: Reliance on lifts, rather than the lifts themselves, is the clearer source of inconvenience.
- 11. Specify the expansion Original: expansion around transport links Suggested revision: new development around transport links Why it matters: New development identifies what would expand around transport connections.
Suggested Rewrites
- populations in major cities rise urban populations grow
- finding sufficient housing providing enough housing
- best answer on their own best solution by themselves
- building upwards building vertically
- This can allow This enables
- housing pressure pressure on the housing supply
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response is strongest in its direct, nuanced position and the sustained development of a balanced urban-planning argument, supported by relevant consequences and an illustrative example. The main limitation is that the final policy paragraph is comparatively brief and lists several alternatives without fully explaining how they complement high-rise construction. The highest-priority improvement is to develop that proposed mixed strategy with one more precise causal link or example.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Response
The essay fully answers the question, maintains a clear disagreement with an exclusive high-rise solution, and develops relevant supporting ideas.
Extend the mixed-policy proposal by explaining in more detail how one alternative would increase housing supply effectively.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response has clear overall progression, purposeful paragraphing, and cohesive links that guide the reader smoothly through the argument.
Link the short policy paragraph more explicitly to the specific social and infrastructure problems identified before it.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied, precise, and natural across the discussion of housing supply, density, infrastructure, and community life.
Replace the few broader policy phrases with even more exact terms where discussing the expansion of housing around transport links.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex and simple structures are combined flexibly and accurately, with errors rare enough not to affect clarity.
Preserve this accuracy while experimenting with slightly greater structural variety in the shorter recommendation paragraph.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
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?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.