Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-08-15

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 7.0)

As an architectural student, we would often debate on how there is a strong sentiment that some people gold about restoring old buildings like town halls, art galleries and even ancient cities. This could be a costly endeavour, which is why the idea is met with a lot of opposing sentiment as well.

I think there is a strong case to restore and maintain these buildings. They give us a snapshot into history and the era they were built it. It tells us about the art that was famous during those times, the materials that were available, the design language that was deemed pathbreaking and so much more. It gives us a peak into the older ways of life and in a sense, helps us preserve a sense of history. There definitely is a cost associated to be able to maintain these heritage structures, but in a sense they can help recover this in many other forms. If we talk about just monetary terms, heritage sites and buildings are a massive tourist attraction which attract a lot of visitors and that brings in a lot of monetary value with it. It creates its own unique offering.

That being said, I do see the flip side of the coin as well. Restoring cost associated with these structures are no joke. We are in a new age where we have taken leaps and strides in the technology we use. It is safer, modern looking and some would say better looking. We can do more with less, and then use the resources in better, more appropriate places like research for emerging technologies or help in way to combating grave issues like water and food shortage. As a very famous architect once told, "form follows function".

I personally believe there is room for both, but I am a strong believer of preserving the national treasures we have. They have their own unique offering and not all spaces need to have a functional value attached to it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the preservation of old buildings and the argument for modern replacements. Your position is clear throughout, particularly in the conclusion where you advocate for preservation. The ideas are relevant and generally well-developed, such as the economic argument regarding tourism and the functional argument for modern infrastructure. To reach a higher band, ensure that your supporting examples are more specific; for instance, instead of mentioning 'a very famous architect', naming one or providing a concrete example of a restored building would strengthen the development of your argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph has a central focus, and you use transition signals like 'That being said' and 'I personally believe' to guide the reader. However, some cohesive devices are slightly repetitive or mechanical. The referencing is generally clear, though the opening sentence is a bit clunky, which slightly affects the flow. To improve, try to vary your linking words and ensure that the transition between the introduction and the body paragraphs is smoother to enhance the overall coherence of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to discuss the topic with some precision. Phrases like 'costly endeavour', 'heritage structures', and 'monetary value' are used effectively. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'gold' instead of 'hold' in the first paragraph and 'peak' instead of 'peek'. Additionally, 'restoring cost' should be 'restoration costs'. While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate that you need to be more careful with collocations and spelling to reach the higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'built it' instead of 'built in' and 'help in way to combating' which is awkward phrasing. The subject-verb agreement in the first sentence ('As an architectural student, we...') is a dangling modifier error. Despite these issues, the majority of your sentences are clear and error-free. To improve, focus on refining your complex sentence structures and proofreading for minor prepositional and agreement errors.

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

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