It is more important for a building to serve a purpose than to look beautiful. Architects, therefore, should not worry about producing buildings as a work of art. Do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Sample Response
Buildings have both structural and functional purposes but which one is more important - the structure or the function of a building is debatable. Some people opine that a building should primarily fulfil its utilitarian purposepurposes rather than appearlook artistic. I agree with this opinion becauseas I believe that in the modern eraage, meeting practical needsserving practical purposes is far more important for a building than being visually appealingbeing appealing in appearance.
To begincommence with, the world is already facing a housing shortagea scarcity of housing, and affordable accommodation is a distant dream for many. Thus, the need for living, shopping and participating in community activitiesdoing community activities has become far more important than erecting buildings to beautify a neighbourhoodto make a neighbourhood look stunning. For instance, modern cities such asmodern cities like New York or Hong KongHongkong need more multipurpose skyscrapers to accommodate the increasing population and curb soaring housing pricescheck the soaring housing prices while also serving people's practical needs. If the city planners and architects in those modern cities intend on constructing buildings that resemble medieval European architecture to enhance the impression of their neighbourhoods, they would soon regret their decisions.
Moreover, vertical city conceptsfuturistic vertical city concepts will become the norm in the near future in most cities. Those vertical cities will house lengthy skyscrapers and accommodate thousands of apartments, shopping centres, schools, parks, offices, and so on in a single building. The design would focus on serving practical purposes rather than being aesthetically appealing. This is why modern architects should adapt to these future practical needsfuturistic but practical needs rather than producing works of art when they plan and design buildings for modern cities. If they keep planning for visual appealappeals, they would fail to remain mainstream.
In conclusion, in a modern world where the population is staggeringly high and the demand for affordable housing is not met, designing and constructing buildings that serve practical and functional purposes are far more important for architects and designers. They should, therefore, prioritise functionality above the grandeur of these constructions.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response presents a consistent position and develops it through relevant arguments about housing pressure, multipurpose buildings, and future vertical cities, with a clear logical progression. Its main limitation is some repetition between the two body paragraphs and a handful of imprecise expressions that slightly reduce sophistication. To improve further, distinguish the supporting arguments more sharply and acknowledge how functional design can still incorporate aesthetic value.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The position is clear throughout and supported with relevant, well-developed arguments about housing demand and practical urban design.
Add a brief concession about the possible value of aesthetics to make the argument more nuanced without weakening the position.
Coherence and Cohesion
The essay is logically organised and progresses smoothly, although the body paragraphs overlap somewhat in their emphasis on practical urban needs.
Give each body paragraph a more distinct function, such as present housing pressures first and future planning requirements second.
Lexical Resource
A wide range of topic vocabulary is used effectively, with occasional imprecise choices such as lengthy skyscrapers and visual appeals.
Refine collocations by using natural alternatives such as high-rise towers, aesthetic appeal, and moderate rising housing costs.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentences are frequent and generally well controlled, while the few grammatical slips do not impede communication.
Polish punctuation in long opening sentences and check preposition and agreement choices during final editing.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
It is more important for a building to serve a purpose than to look beautiful. Architects, therefore, should not worry about producing buildings as a work of art. Do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.