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)

Many peoples in todays world just want there history to always be remember. On the other hand there are many those think that we should be modernise along with the world.

Nowadays things those are old and from history are just to be considered as mark for their legacy and to explain where they came from.

But I think so those who want to restore old buildings, hall and art galleries do not think that the cost which will spend on restoration is worth more than these historical things. In my opinion they are right because we should always remember our history as our identities. For example: my country pakistan has preserved old civilisation known as “moen jo daro” If this civilisation was replaced by modern buildings and skyscrapers then we all will be unaware of this ground reality which exist thousands of years before us.

However those who think that old historical things should be replaced by the new infrastructures than they are wrong because every thing is not worth to money some are those which gives you why you are here and who was when you were not. Even though these modern infrastructure has many advantages but comparatively it has equal disadvantages.

We should save our history and expand as much as we can to preserve and restore it. Because another generation will know about what was there and how people used to live and spend there life in simple way, Rather than advanced technology world which is the leading era.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the task by discussing the views on restoring old buildings versus replacing them with modern ones, and the writer provides a clear personal opinion favouring restoration. Ideas are extended with a relevant personal example, such as mentioning the historical site 'moen jo daro' in Pakistan. However, the development of ideas tends to be repetitive and sometimes lacks clarity, particularly in the third and fourth paragraphs where the argument becomes slightly confused ('every thing is not worth to money some are those which gives you why you are here'). While all parts of the prompt are touched upon, the reasoning is somewhat under-developed in places, placing the task response at a Band 5.5 to 6.0 level. We award a Band 6.0 as the main requirements of discussing both sides and presenting an opinion are fulfilled.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a basic overall arrangement with clear introduction and conclusion paragraphs, aligning with Band 6. However, progression is frequently disrupted by awkward transitions and confusing sentence structures. Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes inaccurately or mechanically, such as 'For example: my country pakistan has...' and 'However those who think...'. Paragraphing is attempted, but some paragraphs are disjointed and contain run-on ideas that lack smooth logical transitions. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as the pronoun use in 'who was when you were not'. Overall, the logical flow is somewhat impeded by cohesion issues, justifying a Band 5.5, rounded to a 6.0 for attempting a clear structural framework throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The lexical range is limited and adequate for the task, meeting the criteria for Band 5. The student makes numerous noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'peoples' instead of 'people', 'todays' instead of 'today's', 'there' instead of 'their', 'modernise' instead of 'modernised', and 'civilisation' lacking capitalisation. Words are often misused or confused, as seen in 'ground reality which exist thousands of years before us' and 'worth to money'. While the vocabulary allows the writer to express basic opinions about history and architecture, the frequency of lexical errors and unnatural collocations causes some difficulty for the reader and prevents the response from reaching Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in structure. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors in punctuation, subject-verb agreement, and tense consistency. Examples include 'Many peoples in todays world just want there history to always be remember' (passive voice error and spelling issues) and 'if this civilisation was replaced... then we all will be unaware' (conditional structure error). Punctuation is frequently omitted or misused, and missing prepositions or incorrect word forms appear in almost every sentence. Because these recurring errors can cause strain for the reader and error-free sentences are relatively rare, the grammar profile aligns closely with the Band 5 descriptors.

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

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