Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-17

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 6.5)

People often hold contrasting views about renovation of old buildings, though I believe some are imperative to the city heritage and should be preserved.

Old buildings are the vessels which make people travel back to the times in which they were first made. A visitor when approaches an old building is immediately struck with the aura which the building has been carrying since its construction. Take Taj Mahal for example, whenever someone visits its vasts gardens, ponds and halls he is shook by the Mughal grandeur of the 19th century. It enlivens a poetic and an aesthetic part of the visitors personality which may have been dormant for a long period of time. This is an experience which cannot be offered by any other means and is immensely valuable in its own right. Hence, the argument that its expensive renovation could be redirected loses its logic when compared with with its uplifting effects.

Sometimes though, the government can consider replacing less valuable buildings with modern buildings which serve the people better. Not all old buildings carry the same cultural, artitechtural or emotional values. Take simple plain residences of political personalities for example. They often are dispered throughout the country and lack the detail and depth to their inception, construction or eventual utilization as well. As a result, they involve large expenses in travelling and maintenance and fail to generate the feelings of attachment which diminish their positive impact on the general public.

In my opinion, the goverments should therefore establish a certain proforma for each old building detailing points for inception, construction and utility to establish whether a building is to be replaced or restored. A cut-off should be set for example, the building with greater than 60 points to be restored and others to be replaced. This would help in better utilization of resources and improve public welfare and promote the development of community as a whole.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response addresses both sides of the discussion and gives a clear position: culturally significant buildings should be preserved, while less valuable ones may be replaced. The Taj Mahal example supports the preservation argument, and the contrast with ordinary residences helps explain why replacement can sometimes be justified. The proposed assessment system also makes your opinion explicit. These ideas are relevant and extended, but some support is broad or not fully convincing: the claim that political figures’ residences lack cultural value is asserted rather than demonstrated, and the 60-point threshold is introduced without explaining how the criteria would be measured. Develop that example and clarify how the proposed system would work to make the reasoning more persuasive and consistently supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear overall progression: it introduces your position, considers the case for restoration, presents the case for replacement, and concludes with a practical proposal. Paragraphing supports this structure, and signposts such as “Sometimes though” and “In my opinion” help readers follow the shift between views. Within paragraphs, ideas generally build logically, particularly the sequence from a building’s historical atmosphere to its emotional value. Some connections are less smooth: the move from the Taj Mahal example to the cost argument is abrupt, and the final paragraph’s scoring proposal arrives without a clear link to the preceding example. Use more explicit transitions to show how each example supports the comparison, and make references such as “its” unambiguous.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary and attempt some less common expressions, including “cultural,” “aesthetic,” “maintenance,” and “public welfare.” These choices help convey the topic, but several are inaccurate, misspelled, or unnatural in context, which limits precision. For example, “vasts gardens” and “artitechtural” contain spelling errors, while “the vessels which make people travel back” and “a proforma” are awkward choices for the intended meaning. “Feelings of attachment which diminish their positive impact” also appears to reverse the intended relationship. Aim for natural collocations and check spelling and word forms carefully; more precise phrasing would make your ideas clearer without requiring more elaborate vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response includes a mix of simple and complex structures, such as the relative clause in “buildings which serve the people better” and the conditional idea in “whether a building is to be replaced or restored.” Most sentences remain understandable, but some grammatical errors occur. For example, “A visitor when approaches” lacks a correctly formed clause, and “he is shook” uses an incorrect verb form. There are also issues with articles and agreement in “an aesthetic part of the visitors personality,” as well as a faulty construction in “the building with greater than 60 points to be restored.” Revise these sentences into complete, well-formed clauses, and check possessives, articles, and verb forms. Greater accuracy across these structures would strengthen the essay.

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