Safety standards are important when building people's homes. Who should be responsible for enforcing strict building codes – the government or the people who build the homes? The population of the world is increasing and so does the needs for more houses, commercial buildings and other constructions are escalating as well. The high rising buildings constructions, wood-house constructions etc. require more safety & standard issues while this is being violated often and accidents related to building constructions are increasing. Some people opine that Government is solely responsible to ensuring the safety and codes while others believe that house owners are the persons who should be responsible. In my opinion, a government has a role in setting the rules and following it but it the owners and authority of the building owners who should ensure the standard and safety while constructing the houses and commercial buildings. First of all, it is out of the scope for the government to appoint necessary manpower and monitoring system in every place where the construction works would occur. Before building any house, people must take the permission from the authority and build the house accordingly. But any accident occurs due to the lack of safety procedure; improper use of tools and materials, unskilled labour, unnecessary rush would be because of the owner’s failure to comply the codes. The workers, who work for contractions; including the architect, engineer and labour, should know the safety rules and codes and also should protest when they believe that a rule might have been violated and ignored. The labours should never assent to work in a position which is harmful and risky for them, the engineers should maintain the strict rules instead of blindly following the construction owners order and the local authority should time to time monitor the constructions to avoid the hazards. In conclusion, the Government does not have the necessary scope to monitor each & every construction in a country and the house owners must know the safety procedures, standards and rules to make sure the safety.
Sample Response
( Viewpoint: Government should be responsible for enforcing strict building codes)
People or commercial constructors build homes for private dwelling or for commercial uses and the number is increasing rapidly as the demand for new buildings is increasing. In all cases of building a new construction safety of dwelling is important. It is home maker’s or contractors responsibility to build houses complying with standard engineering requirements and building codes set by the respective governments. I believe that the government should always be there to strictly enforce building codes, and in the case of non-compliance authorities should take punitive measures. Enforcement of the law is government’s responsibility. Since non-compliance can not only cause hazards to the homeowners, but also to tenants and if in a cooperative or apartment, many co-owners may suffer. The building codes are regulatory requirements concerning safety and quality of the construction, use of space and others. For example, in an earthquake-prone area, the buildings should not be very high and the design and structure must have higher earthquake resistance. Big houses and long buildings (i.e. academic departments, hotels and hostels) require dilatation every 15-20 meters so that in a heavy earthquake, only part of a building collapses, not the whole. Moreover, the quality of the materials used in construction and electric wiring, and the gas connection should pass minimum safety standards. Adequate entry & exit facilities and emergency exist, fire extinguishers are also very important is establishments like factories, hall rooms, discos, party centres. In cases of a wooden house, wood must be coated with fire-resistant paint. In large apartments, office buildings, hall rooms and lobbies of hotels, fire-barriers made of rubber and steel are used to prevent the spreading of fire. Similarly, in areas of frequent hailstorms, skylights must not be used, and if so, must be protected by steel shutters. Many constructors often tend to ignore the minimum safety requirements to minimise costs which jeopardise people’s life. Many private homemakers do not know details of these standards and precautions. It is the responsibility of the government to disseminate such essential knowledge and monitor the compliance of builders, developers and makers of houses. However, the builders cannot avoid their responsibility anyway. In conclusion, in this modern world, the government is ultimately responsible for its entire citizen’s safety and good life. It is also the government's responsibility to enforce strict building code. If the negligence of any government agency jeopardises people’s life, the government will be held responsible.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use plural dwelling Original: for private dwelling Suggested revision: for private dwellings Why it matters: The general reference to homes requires a plural count noun.
- 2. Use uncountable use Original: for commercial uses Suggested revision: for commercial use Why it matters: ‘Commercial use’ is normally uncountable in this general expression.
- 3. Avoid repeated wording Original: as the demand for new buildings is increasing Suggested revision: as demand for new buildings grows Why it matters: This removes the repeated use of ‘increasing’ while preserving the causal link.
- 4. Fix possessive forms Original: home maker’s or contractors responsibility Suggested revision: homeowners’ or contractors’ responsibility Why it matters: Both plural groups need possessive apostrophes before the shared noun ‘responsibility’.
- 5. Make verb direct Original: should always be there to strictly enforce Suggested revision: should strictly enforce Why it matters: The shorter verb phrase states the government's enforcement role more directly.
- 6. Add clause comma Original: in the case of non-compliance authorities Suggested revision: in cases of non-compliance, authorities Why it matters: A comma is needed after the introductory prepositional phrase.
- 7. Add definite article Original: government’s responsibility Suggested revision: the government’s responsibility Why it matters: The specific institution requires the definite article in this construction.
- 8. Clarify regulatory list Original: concerning safety and quality of the construction, use of space and others Suggested revision: concerning construction safety and quality, use of space, and other matters Why it matters: The revision makes the listed areas parallel and replaces the vague final term.
- 9. Use natural comparison Original: higher earthquake resistance Suggested revision: greater earthquake resistance Why it matters: ‘Greater resistance’ is the natural collocation for increased structural protection.
- 10. Use construction term Original: dilatation Suggested revision: expansion joints Why it matters: ‘Expansion joints’ clearly names the structural feature intended in this context.
- 11. Use natural collocation Original: in a heavy earthquake Suggested revision: during a major earthquake Why it matters: Earthquakes are described as ‘major’ or ‘severe’, and events occur ‘during’ them.
- 12. Use correct collocation Original: should pass minimum safety standards Suggested revision: should meet minimum safety standards Why it matters: Materials and installations ‘meet’ standards rather than ‘pass’ them.
Suggested Rewrites
- for private dwelling for private dwellings
- for commercial uses for commercial use
- as the demand for new buildings is increasing as demand for new buildings grows
- home maker’s or contractors responsibility homeowners’ or contractors’ responsibility
- should always be there to strictly enforce should strictly enforce
- in the case of non-compliance authorities in cases of non-compliance, authorities
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response’s strongest feature is its detailed, concrete case for government enforcement, supported by varied examples of construction risks and standards. Its main limitation is that almost the entire discussion appears in one long paragraph, while some technical examples receive more attention than the responsibility question itself. The highest priority is to organise the argument into focused paragraphs that distinguish government enforcement from builders’ obligations and sharpen the comparison between them.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Response
A clear and consistent position is well supported through explanations of public risk, regulatory oversight, builders’ incentives, and practical safety requirements.
Make the division of responsibility more explicit by directly contrasting why government must enforce codes with what builders must implement.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument follows a discernible progression and uses linking expressions effectively, but the lack of meaningful paragraph breaks substantially weakens organisation.
Divide the response into an introduction, focused body paragraphs on enforcement and compliance, and a separate conclusion.
Lexical Resource
A wide range of relevant and sometimes specialised vocabulary conveys the argument precisely, despite several awkward choices and incorrect forms.
Correct collocations and forms such as ‘emergency exits’, ‘in establishments’, ‘people’s lives’, and ‘citizens’ safety’.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentence structures are used with considerable flexibility, though article, possessive, agreement, and sentence-boundary errors recur.
Edit long sentences for complete clause structure and check possessives and singular–plural agreement before finalising the essay.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Safety standards are important when building people's homes. Who should be responsible for enforcing strict building codes – the government or the people who build the homes? The population of the world is increasing and so does the needs for more houses, commercial buildings and other constructions are escalating as well. The high rising buildings constructions, wood-house constructions etc. require more safety & standard issues while this is being violated often and accidents related to building constructions are increasing. Some people opine that Government is solely responsible to ensuring the safety and codes while others believe that house owners are the persons who should be responsible. In my opinion, a government has a role in setting the rules and following it but it the owners and authority of the building owners who should ensure the standard and safety while constructing the houses and commercial buildings. First of all, it is out of the scope for the government to appoint necessary manpower and monitoring system in every place where the construction works would occur. Before building any house, people must take the permission from the authority and build the house accordingly. But any accident occurs due to the lack of safety procedure; improper use of tools and materials, unskilled labour, unnecessary rush would be because of the owner’s failure to comply the codes. The workers, who work for contractions; including the architect, engineer and labour, should know the safety rules and codes and also should protest when they believe that a rule might have been violated and ignored. The labours should never assent to work in a position which is harmful and risky for them, the engineers should maintain the strict rules instead of blindly following the construction owners order and the local authority should time to time monitor the constructions to avoid the hazards. In conclusion, the Government does not have the necessary scope to monitor each & every construction in a country and the house owners must know the safety procedures, standards and rules to make sure the safety.
Your response
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