Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-12

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 5.5)

It is argued whether the ancient properties should be destroyed to build new ones, or they sould be renovated even though it might be expensive. In this essay, I will discuss both views and suggest why old buildings are crucial to protect for upcoming generations.

Although some people think to destroy every old building like art galleries and town halls because they think these kind of places are outdated and they should be replaced by upcoming projects which might be helpful in building nation's economy. Another major reason behind this approach might be the population. Increasing population is leading to space management in the markets which requires every unnecessary and unproductive space to be converted into something productive. For instance, a news headline showed that Governmant of Pakistan is taking actions to destroy all ancient museum in order to modernise the country.

However, others think that destroying such buildings is itself a big loss to the future generation. These are tend to be protected as they can be founded rare. Day by day we are losing invaluable remains from our history. These things can help inspire and grow us. These kind of buildings are restored as these are known to be our roots and symbol of our ancestors. These are lot more than money and the emotions related to the old things are far more expensive.

To conclude, modernization might be crucial but money can never take over emotions. So I will suggest to protect our history and its symbols because at the very last movement of our life everyone wants to be remembered for decades.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views on restoring versus replacing old buildings and clearly stating the writer's own opinion in the introduction and conclusion. The position is maintained throughout the essay. However, the ideas are somewhat limited and under-developed. For instance, the arguments concerning population pressure and emotional value are introduced but lack deep elaboration or concrete analysis. Examples, such as the mention of a news headline regarding Pakistan, are brief and lack specificity. Despite these limitations in development, the task is adequately addressed, aligning best with a Band 6.0 performance level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph structure, featuring an introduction, two body paragraphs representing opposing views, and a conclusion. However, cohesion is at times mechanical and faulty. For example, the transition 'Although some people think to destroy...' is grammatically awkward and disrupts the logical flow. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as the ambiguous pronoun use in 'These are tend to be protected' and 'These things can help inspire and grow us.' Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas, but the progression within paragraphs could be smoother, supporting a Band 5.5 score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate for the topic, using terms such as 'modernisation,' 'invaluable remains,' and 'outdated.' However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices throughout the text, such as 'ancient properties' instead of historic buildings, 'think to destroy' instead of advocating for demolition, and 'founded rare' instead of found to be rare. Spelling is generally accurate, but limitations in collocation and precision prevent the response from achieving a higher band, placing it firmly at Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and concessive clauses in sentences like 'Although some people think to destroy...'. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in verb forms, voice, and agreement, including 'properties should be destroyed... or they sould be renovated,' 'These are tend to be protected,' 'These kind of buildings,' and 'at the very last movement of our life.' While these errors do not severely impede overall communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the response from reaching a Band 6.0, making Band 5.5 a more accurate reflection of grammatical control.

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