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
It is often argued that high-rise apartment buildings are the most effective solution to the shortage of housing in major cities. Although tall blocks can accommodate a large number of residents on limited land, I only partly agree because they should be combined with other forms of development.
The main advantage of building upwards is that land in city centres is extremely expensive and scarce. A tower can provide hundreds of flats on a plot where only a few houses could otherwise be built. This may help governments to offer homes near workplaces, public transport and schools, instead of forcing people to move to distant suburbs. In addition, apartments in large buildings can sometimes be cheaper to heat and maintain because facilities such as parking areas and lifts are shared.
However, relying mainly on tall apartment blocks can create several problems. First, densely populated buildings may put pressure on local roads, hospitals and green spaces if these services are not expanded at the same time. Some residents also find living in very small flats unpleasant, especially families with children who need outdoor areas. In poorer districts, badly managed tower blocks can become unsafe or isolated communities. Therefore, simply increasing the number of floors does not necessarily improve people's quality of life.
In my view, high-rise housing is suitable in well-connected central areas, where there is a real lack of land. Nevertheless, city planners should also renovate empty buildings, encourage medium-rise housing and develop smaller towns with good transport links. This approach would provide more homes while avoiding excessive concentration in one part of a city.
In conclusion, tall apartment blocks are an important way to address urban housing shortages, but they are not the best solution in every situation. They need careful planning and should form part of a wider housing strategy.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Clarify uncountable noun Original: on limited land Suggested revision: on a limited amount of land Why it matters: This form makes the uncountable quantity explicit and reads more naturally.
- 2. Use precise adverb Original: building upwards Suggested revision: building vertically Why it matters: Vertically is a more precise formal term for high-rise construction.
- 3. Strengthen collocation Original: offer homes Suggested revision: provide housing Why it matters: Provide housing is the more conventional collocation in urban-planning contexts.
- 4. Use specific term Original: parking areas Suggested revision: car parks Why it matters: Car parks names the shared facility more directly in British English.
- 5. Improve lexical precision Original: densely populated buildings Suggested revision: densely occupied buildings Why it matters: Occupied describes the density of residents within buildings more precisely.
- 6. Fix illogical description Original: unsafe or isolated communities Suggested revision: unsafe or socially isolated places to live Why it matters: A tower block can be a place to live, whereas calling the building itself a community is imprecise.
- 7. Specify what concentrates Original: excessive concentration in one part of a city Suggested revision: excessive concentration of housing in one part of the city Why it matters: Naming housing makes the meaning of concentration explicit.
- 8. Avoid noun repetition Original: high-rise apartment buildings Suggested revision: high-rise residential buildings Why it matters: Residential avoids the awkward repetition of apartment and buildings while preserving the meaning.
- 9. Use concise wording Original: a large number of residents Suggested revision: many residents Why it matters: The shorter quantifier conveys the same meaning more directly.
- 10. Order cause and effect Original: extremely expensive and scarce Suggested revision: both scarce and extremely expensive Why it matters: Putting scarcity first creates a clearer logical progression to high land prices.
- 11. Use specific reference Original: A tower Suggested revision: A high-rise building Why it matters: The more specific noun keeps the example closely tied to the essay topic.
- 12. Maintain precise terminology Original: apartments in large buildings Suggested revision: flats in high-rise buildings Why it matters: This wording is more specific and maintains the British English terminology used elsewhere.
Suggested Rewrites
- on limited land on a limited amount of land
- building upwards building vertically
- offer homes provide housing
- parking areas car parks
- densely populated buildings densely occupied buildings
- unsafe or isolated communities unsafe or socially isolated places to live
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response presents a consistently clear, well-balanced position and develops both the benefits and limitations of high-rise housing with relevant, logically connected explanation. Its main limitation is that some support remains general rather than being explored through a particularly concrete or distinctive example. The highest-priority improvement is to deepen one central point with more specific illustration or analysis so that the argument becomes even more compelling.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Response
The response fully addresses the extent question with a clear qualified position and well-developed, relevant reasons throughout.
Deepen one key reason with a more specific real-world illustration to make the support even more persuasive.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through well-focused paragraphs, with cohesive devices used naturally and without distracting repetition.
Refine the transition into the proposed wider strategy so its relationship to the preceding drawbacks is even more explicit.
Lexical Resource
A wide and precise vocabulary is used flexibly to discuss housing density, infrastructure, planning, and quality of life.
Add occasional more sharply differentiated wording when contrasting high-rise, medium-rise, and regional development options.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex sentence structures is handled accurately, with consistently clear and controlled punctuation.
Continue varying clause openings and sentence rhythms while maintaining the same high level of grammatical control.
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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
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