Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

Art is personally my favourite thing, I almost visit the museum and art galleries every couple of months and take the pictures of all the painting and statues. I know that restoration of these things are kind of expensive but in my opinions it is a great source of attractions and it is very beneficial for the artists and government as when a city has many art places than it is a big source of attraction for tourists. Although every person have its own opinion than in my opinion, the government should restore these things rather than replacing them with modern building, but if we see this from another view than the peoples who do not like these buildings and places are also not completely wrong, as if the government builds new buildings than the government can serve these building to the people also which is very beneficial for both government and people. I live in Lahore, which is a city in Pakistan. And here is many historical and old buildings like Sheesh Mahal, Badshahi Masjid, Shahi Qila, etc. And honestly Lahore is known from these buildings, These are the heart of lahore, and if the government says that they wants to replace these historical places with new buildings than it will be a big loss for Lahore. So, in my opinion, I never want to replace these with modern buildings. But on the other view modern buildings can be more beneficial to people and government so the government can build schools, universities or any other institute on that place to serve the people for the betterment of nation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response attempts to address both views regarding the restoration versus replacement of old buildings and provides a clear personal opinion, particularly drawing on local examples such as Lahore's historical sites. However, the development of ideas tends to be repetitive and somewhat colloquial (e.g., 'Art is personally my favourite thing'). While all parts of the prompt are touched upon, the arguments supporting modern buildings are quite simplistic and lack deep elaboration. The position is clear, but the overall treatment is somewhat conversational and restricted by limited supporting elaboration, aligning it closely with Band 6 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is written as one large, unbroken block of text with no paragraph breaks, which significantly impacts its readability and visual structure. Although basic cohesive devices are used (such as 'Although', 'And', and 'So'), the lack of distinct paragraphs means the organisation fails to guide the reader logically through the introduction, discussion of views, and conclusion. Referencing is sometimes confusing, and the progression of ideas is hindered by run-on sentences and a lack of clear discourse markers to signal shifts between opposing arguments.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey basic meanings about historical buildings and tourism, but it is repetitive and lacks sophistication. Phrases like 'big source of attraction' and 'very beneficial' appear multiple times. There are also noticeable lexical and collocational inaccuracies, such as 'take the pictures of all the painting' instead of 'take pictures of all the paintings', and 'art places'. These errors do not completely impede communication, placing the response securely in the Band 5 range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but accuracy is inconsistent. There are numerous grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('every person have its own opinion', 'here is many historical and old buildings'), tense inconsistencies ('if the government says that they wants'), and punctuation errors like comma splices connecting independent clauses. While complex sentences are attempted, they are frequently faulty, leading to noticeable strain for the reader, which aligns with the criteria for Band 5.

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

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