Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-10-19

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)

One section of society think that old archieves should be taken care for example town halls and art galleries whether it will need more money for maintenance. Some people believe that local bodies should make structures as the new era.

Firstly, we will discuss the views for maintaining the old monuments. By organising old structure for example monuments, art galleries, it will help the society and young generation to get to know the history and culture of the nation. Other positive thing for maitaining is that it will generate income and help in economy. Local Bodies can convert old structures in are galleries, museums and so on which other people , group of children from school can buy tickets and see the museums. For example, In India House of Indira Gandhi was converted in Gandhi Museum where people from other countries come and see the old things. The fee for foreign national is always far costly.

On the other hand, by keeping old structures it will become so expensive that the money collected from taxes for common public's convenience need to spend on maintenance of old buildings. Sometimes it will become hurdle for development of city. for Example, In India, there is need to route the Delhi metro near the monument Qutab Minar, but engineers cannot dig near that monument because the building is too weak , if they do anything there, it will collapse. They need to make another way which was longer and become costly three times of the cost.

In my view, it is important to maintain our culture and history for our young generation and for coming young ones but at the same time it is alos important to spend money which will help the nation to develop and faster in today's era.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You discuss both positions and give a clear preference for preserving cultural heritage while recognising the need for development. The examples—the Gandhi Museum and the proposed Delhi Metro route near Qutab Minar—make the arguments relevant and help explain the costs and practical difficulties. This meets the task, although the two sides are not developed equally: the case for restoration includes cultural and economic benefits, while the case for replacement focuses mainly on public spending and construction constraints. Your conclusion states a balanced view, but “spend money which will help the nation to develop” could be made more specific. Explain more directly when a new building is preferable and how governments should weigh heritage against public needs.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph for each view, and a concluding opinion. “Firstly” and “On the other hand” help signal the change in argument, and the examples generally appear alongside the point they support. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear or mechanical. For instance, the first body paragraph moves from cultural education to income generation without explaining the connection, and “Other positive thing” is an awkward transition. Some references, such as “it” in “it will become so expensive,” are not fully clear. Use topic sentences that state each paragraph’s main claim, then connect each example explicitly to that claim with clearer referencing and varied linking phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “maintenance,” “monuments,” “taxes,” “development,” and “culture,” and the examples show an attempt to discuss heritage and urban planning. However, the range is limited and several inaccurate word choices or collocations make parts of the argument difficult to follow. “Old archieves” does not express the intended idea; “old buildings” or “heritage buildings” would be clearer. Likewise, “organising old structure” and “convert old structures in are galleries” are not natural expressions. Spelling errors such as “maitaining” and “alos” also reduce control. Build a bank of accurate phrases for restoration, redevelopment, and public expenditure, and check spelling and word forms during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including a conditional example about what might happen if engineers dig near Qutab Minar. However, complex sentences are often not controlled accurately, and errors sometimes make relationships between ideas unclear. For example, “One section of society think” has a subject–verb agreement error, while “the money collected from taxes … need to spend” has problems with agreement and sentence construction. In “the fee for foreign national is always far costly,” the article and comparative structure are also faulty. Practise building sentences around a clear subject and verb, and check agreement, articles, and clause structure. More accurate control of these patterns would make your reasoning easier to follow.

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