Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-05

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)

Nowadays, many historical buildings are being repaired by the government. A large number of individuals argue that ancient buildings such as town halls and art galleries, should be restored by the government, even though the maintainance will be costly whereas others think that the old buildings should be replaced with the new modern buildings.This essay will be discuss both views because there are many advantages of restoring them such as tourist attractions, historical and cultural value, there are also some disadvantages such as expensive maintainance and better facilities.

To begin with, if the government maintains the old buildings, the number of tourists will increase. Although, maintainance will be higher for repairing the old buildings, it will benefit the country in growth of economy.For example, Many individuals are attracted towards the beauty of the ancient buildings. As a result, young people understand about historical and cultural value.

However, replacing old buildings with new ones can be expensive and modern buildings have better facilities. In addition, For safety reasons it is better to replace them. This means that, old buildings may have weak structure which will be unsafe to visit there. For example,Many old buildings in India were demolished due to weak infrastructure and injured the local people.As a result, it is better to replace them with the new modern buildings for the safety of the local people.

To conclude, I believe that, if the structure of the buildings is strong, the government has to maintain them for unique identity and repaires them within limited time period because it will be necessary for the safety of the people. Furthermore, sometimes it is important to replace them with new ones for better infrastructure and facilities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on whether old buildings should be restored or replaced and providing a personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. For instance, while the benefits of historical preservation such as economic growth and cultural value are mentioned, the expansion remains brief. Similarly, the counterargument regarding safety is introduced with an example of buildings in India, but the connection between weak infrastructure and the necessity of complete replacement could be more thoroughly explored. Some ideas tend to be generalised rather than fully extended. Overall, the main positions are apparent throughout the essay, though a more detailed elaboration of specific examples would elevate the level of task response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear chronological progression from introduction to body paragraphs and a concluding stance. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different facets of the argument, such as the benefits of retention versus the safety justifications for replacement. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as "To begin with," "However," and "To conclude." Nevertheless, referencing and cohesion can occasionally feel mechanical or slightly repetitive, as seen in the frequent use of formulaic transitional phrases. Pronoun referencing and the flow between consecutive sentences could be smoother to avoid a disjointed feel in places. Despite these minor mechanical limitations, the logical structure of the argument remains easy to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating a sufficient range to discuss the topic of historical preservation and modern development. The writer attempts some less common lexical items, such as "tourist attractions," "historical and cultural value," and "infrastructure," though these are accompanied by some word-choice and spelling inaccuracies, such as spelling "maintenance" as "maintainance" and "repairs" as "repaires." These slips do not impede communication, and the meaning generally comes across clearly. To achieve a higher level of lexical resource, the writer needs to incorporate a wider variety of sophisticated vocabulary and collocations while eliminating spelling errors and ensuring more precise word choices.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, attempting complex forms such as conditional clauses ("if the government maintains the old buildings, the number of tourists will increase") and concessive clauses ("Although, maintainance will be higher..."). However, there are some noticeable errors in grammar and punctuation. These include punctuation errors such as missing spaces after periods, unnecessary commas separating clauses awkwardly, and minor prepositional or article slips. For example, writing "This essay will be discuss" contains a verb form error, and phrases like "injured the local people" lack a clear subject in relation to the preceding clause. While these errors rarely impede communication, the frequency of structural slips keeps the control within the current band.

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