Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-08-23

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)

In this day and age, certain masses assert that government should restore old and historical buildings like town hall whereas some people suggest that instead of spending valuable funds on old structures, the government should replace them with modern buildings. However, I believe that replacing the old building with the new ones would be impractical because these buildings have social and cultural values associated to them.

On the one hand, sometimes the restoration of old monuments can be quite expensive for the regime. Since these buildings are old and might need construction work at the foundations, restoring old electrical systems. Therefore, the government might need to hire skilled and expensive workers to carry out the maintenance activities. Apart from this, in some scenario, the buildings can be too old or may have lost all the functionality. Thus, instead of wasting money to restore them, construction of new and modern building would be the best option and it will further help the government to resolve issues of home crisis, which are arising at an alarming rate due to increase in population.

On the other hand, the old buildings like town halls have historical and cultural values associated with them. These buildings attribute the unique identity and existence of certain places. Adding on, these building structures can help the young generations to stay rooted to their heritage since they can learn about their origin and traditions followed by their community since ages by visiting these places. For example, in cities like Paris, the old buildings and city center are symbol of their uniqueness. Without the existence of these structures, nobody would appreciate these places. Moreover, the historic buildings helps to boost the economy of the nations. Due to their historical significance, many tourists visit these every year and it becomes earning opportunity for the local communities.

In my standpoint, old buildings have cultural and historic significance associated with them and demolishing them would be a great loss for the society, however some of the buildings can be too old that it would cost fortune to the regime for their restoration. In such cases, modernization of these buildings is the best option.

In conclusion, although the restoration of the old buildings can be quite expensive however, a balanced approach should be taken to ensure modernization of only few, out of state buildings should occ

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both views and providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant and generally well-supported, particularly the arguments regarding cultural heritage and economic benefits. However, the conclusion is incomplete, cutting off mid-sentence, which prevents a fully developed final summary. While the position is clear throughout, the development of the 'modernization' argument in the conclusion is slightly rushed. To reach a higher band, ensure that all paragraphs are fully completed and that the final summary synthesizes the main points effectively without introducing new, fragmented ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two viewpoints and the personal opinion. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'Moreover' are used effectively to guide the reader. However, there are some minor issues with referencing and flow, such as the phrase 'these building structures' which feels slightly repetitive. The abrupt ending of the essay negatively impacts the overall coherence, as the final paragraph fails to provide a cohesive conclusion to the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with some attempts at more sophisticated language like 'impractical', 'alarming rate', and 'historical significance'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'certain masses' (which is unnatural), 'attribute the unique identity' (should be 'contribute to' or 'represent'), and 'earning opportunity' (should be 'a source of income'). While the meaning is clear, the lack of precision in these areas limits the score. Expanding the range of topic-specific collocations would improve the lexical quality.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'the historic buildings helps') and article usage errors (e.g., 'construction of new and modern building'). Some sentences are slightly clunky, such as 'these buildings have social and cultural values associated to them' (should be 'associated with'). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article consistency would significantly enhance the accuracy of the writing.

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.