Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-08-26

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)

There is an ongoing debate regarding about whether government should invest in historical places or replace with the modern buildings. While modern infrastructure offer superior efficiency and functionality. I firmly believe that restoring old building is essential for cultural identity and promotion tourism. So, I will elaborate reasons with relevant examples in the upcoming paragraphs.

To commence with, one of primary reason of preserving historic building provides invaluable cultural and economic benefits. Old structure like town hall and art galleries serve as physical links to a city's heritage, fostering a sense of community identity. Furthermore, they can also attract tourism, which can generate income for local business. A clear example of this is that recent studies have shown that cities like Rome and Paris preserve and well maintained their building such as Eiffel tower and millions of tourists attract places every year. Therefore, a great benefit can be made: individual can learn about their past and get tied with roots by having great visit in these places.

On the contrary side, replacing old buildings can sometimes be a more sensible option. Restoration can be expensive , particularly when a structure has serious damage or requires major changes to meet modern safety standards. New building can be designed with modern facilities, better accessibility, and sustainable. For instance , a newly constructed public building may provide insulation, ventilation and accessibility than an old structure.

In my opinion, Government should not adopt a balance approach. Buildings with genuine historical or cultural importance should be restored because their value can not be measured by only in financial terms. However, buildings that have little historical value and unsafe or extremely expensive to maintain could be replaced with modern facilities.

To sum up, it can said that, although constructing new buildings can be cheaper and more practical in some circumstances, I believe that historical valuable buildings should be well preserved and modernized whenever possible.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion7.0
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.5

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 position is consistent throughout the essay. Ideas are generally well-developed, such as the economic benefits of tourism and the practical advantages of modern construction. However, some arguments could be more thoroughly supported; for example, the mention of 'millions of tourists' in Paris is a bit generic. The conclusion effectively summarizes the main points and reiterates the writer's stance. Overall, the task is fulfilled adequately, though further depth in the examples would elevate the score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

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 commence with', 'Furthermore', and 'On the contrary side' are used to guide the reader. However, there are instances where the flow is slightly mechanical, and some referencing is a bit awkward, such as 'get tied with roots'. Despite these minor issues, the progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow throughout the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with some attempts at more sophisticated language like 'invaluable cultural and economic benefits' and 'fostering a sense of community identity'. However, there are several word choice and collocation errors, such as 'promotion tourism' (should be 'promoting tourism'), 'get tied with roots' (should be 'stay connected to their roots'), and 'millions of tourists attract places' (should be 'tourist attractions'). These errors do not impede communication, but they limit the precision of the writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the writer attempts complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the government', 'the Eiffel Tower'), subject-verb agreement ('modern infrastructure offer'), and prepositions. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with unnecessary spaces before commas. While these errors are noticeable, they rarely impede the reader's understanding of the main points. To reach a higher band, the writer needs to focus on consistent accuracy in basic grammar and sentence construction.

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

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