Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-26

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 5.5)

Despite the restoration of old galleries and halls is costly, the authorities should restore them and this is stated by the group of people. In contrast, other thinks that make modern buildings and replace the old ones. I partially agree with later statement. In further paragraphs I have mentioned my views.

To initialise, old buildings such as town halls and galleries have some traditional values. As a civilians we are just discountinues our heritage by destroying or replacing them with modern infrastuctures. By the restoration projects, Government can preserve major source of history and tradition, they are the heritage places which can generate tourism revenue if restored and showcase in a perticular manner. For instance, old art center of Ahemdabad, Gujarat is restored and announced as a heritage place in the year of 2021 and now generating massive revenue by tourism business.

Meanwhile, building modern infrastucture is easier and way more cheaper than preserving old one. It can save so much time, labour demand and budget of Government. Also, modern building have longer life span in comparison to old structures. Likewise, modern buildings are the better attraction point for the younger generation as they understand the modern arts and styles. Similarly, modern facilities can be provided and it enhances more technological advantages for the visitors which is hard to setup in old buildings. To exemplify, the study shows that people nowadays like to visit modernaised places since they have escaletors and lifts which can reduce visitors stress of walking.

In conclusion, both old and modern buildings have their own advantages, one can help to save history and legacy, at the same time other can give comfort and more technological facilities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—restoring old buildings versus replacing them with modern ones—and provides a clear, albeit partially stated, position. The ideas are generally relevant, but some points lack deeper extension and support. For instance, the example of the old art center in Ahmedabad provides a good specific reference, but the analysis of why governments should fund restoration could be more fully developed. Furthermore, the introduction is somewhat conversational and contains meta-commentary like 'In further paragraphs I have mentioned my views', which detracts slightly from academic tone, though the core task requirements are adequately met overall.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay is arranged into a clear introduction, two body paragraphs representing both viewpoints, and a brief conclusion. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes hindered by awkward transitional phrases and mechanical cohesive devices, such as 'To initialise', 'Meanwhile', and 'Similarly'. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as 'I partially agree with later statement'. Paragraphing is used to separate ideas, but internal paragraph cohesion frequently feels disjointed due to abrupt shifts between sentences. This places the response firmly within the Band 6 descriptor, where the overall arrangement is coherent, but cohesion is sometimes faulty.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'infrastructures', 'modernised', and 'technological advantages'. However, there are numerous errors in word choice, form, and collocation throughout the essay, including 'discountinues our heritage', 'way more cheaper', 'better attraction point', and 'reduce visitors stress'. Spelling errors like 'Ahemdabad', 'infrastuctures', 'escaletors', and 'modernaised' are noticeable. Because these lexical errors do not seriously impede communication, the response satisfies the criteria for Band 5.0 moving towards Band 6.0, but sits comfortably at 5.5 due to the frequency of word-formation issues.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and concessive structures like 'Despite the restoration of old galleries and halls is costly...'. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors in structure and preposition usage, including 'Despite the restoration... is costly' (mixing a prepositional phrase with a clause), 'other thinks that make modern buildings', and 'as a civilians'. Punctuation and article usage are also inconsistent. While these errors do not completely obscure the message, they cause noticeable difficulty for the reader and prevent the grammar score from reaching Band 6.0.

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