Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-08-05

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people believe that old buildings, such as town halls and art galleries, should be restored, even though this can be costly. Others argue that governments should replace them with new, modern buildings.

Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

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

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Certain people are of the view that traditional buildings including town halls and art galleries should be maintained properly while others suggest to modify them with contemporary buildings. In this essay, I will discuss both viewpoints and express my personal opinion.

To begin with, I would say that restoring old buildings is our moral responsibility as these traditional town halls or art galleries have emotional and esthetical feelings attached to them. Many old buildings in my country India, are having strong values related to spirituality, patriotism, love and emotion. For instance Golden Temple of Amritsar, Red Fort of Delhi and Taj Mahal of Agra of great importance for the Indians at large as they are emotionally and esthetically attached to these buildings. However, it is very expensive to maintain these buildings but still instead of spending on extra decoration, government should at least enough to maintain their original value.

Moving forward on the other part, if we replace these traditional buildings into new and modern buildings, they may look more attractive but will easily lose their original and emotional background. Moreover, It will be rather more expensive to completely changing any structure from traditional to contemporary one. Instead of reconstructing the old buildings, Government should build new and updated modern buildings in the field of science and technology. For instance, Burj Khalifa, Museum of Future and Cayan Tower are the world's most expensive, attractive and highly technical buildings of Dubai.

To sum up, I would say both traditional and contemporary buildings are of great importance for the society for different reasons. There should be a balance of expenditure to be allocated on both of them. if Traditional buildings satisfy our emotional feelings then modern buildings are necessary for our economic and mental growth. Both should go hand in hand.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the restoration of old buildings and the construction of modern ones, while clearly stating a personal opinion. The ideas are relevant and supported by examples, such as the Taj Mahal and the Burj Khalifa. However, the development is somewhat uneven; the argument regarding the cost of restoration versus new construction is a bit repetitive and could be more deeply explored. The position is consistent throughout, and the conclusion effectively synthesizes the two viewpoints. To reach a higher band, ensure that the reasoning for each side is more distinct and fully expanded.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two viewpoints. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Moving forward', and 'To sum up' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'Moving forward on the other part'. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear, but the use of cohesive devices lacks the flexibility and sophistication required for a higher band.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'esthetical' (though 'aesthetic' is the standard form) and 'contemporary'. However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and collocation errors, such as 'suggest to modify them' instead of 'suggest replacing them' and 'at least enough to maintain' which is grammatically incomplete. The range is sufficient to convey the intended meaning, but the lack of precision and occasional awkward phrasing limits the score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'Many old buildings... are having strong values' (should be 'have'), 'completely changing any structure' (should be 'completely change'), and 'if Traditional buildings satisfy' (should be 'If'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with capitalization and comma usage. While the errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. A greater focus on subject-verb agreement and verb forms would improve the accuracy significantly.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.