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?
Sample Response
As urban populations growpopulations in major cities rise, providing enough housingfinding 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 solution by themselvesbest answer on their own. Cities should combine carefully planned tall buildings with other forms of development.
There are clear advantages to building verticallyupwards in crowded urban areas. Land in city centres is scarce and expensive, so a tower can accommodate many households on a small site. This enablesThis 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 pressure on the housing supplyhousing pressure and traffic congestion. Providing many homes in one location can also reduce the cost to authorities of extendingmake it cheaper for authorities to extend water, electricity and transport networks.
However, a sole focusan exclusive focus on tall blocks can create serious problems. If they are poorly designed or built without enough shared space, residents may experience overcrowding, insufficient green spacelimited green areas and a weaker sense of community. Families with children and older people may find small flats and reliance on liftssmall 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 new development around transport linksexpansion 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.
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
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.