Some cities have few controls over the design and construction of housing and office buildings. People think that they should be free to choose the design they like. Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
Sample Response
It is true that in some cities, the residents do have the freedom to design their homes or office buildings in their own way because there are limited government regulations on how it should be done. Although some clear benefits of such a trend can be seen, they are, in my view, eclipsed by the considerable drawbacks.
On the one hand, there are many benefits of having less oversight on building design. The first advantage is that it gives scope for creativity. This allows designers or house owners to be more open to new ideas and to freely experiment with new materials and designs, which may eventually lead to the arrival of more innovative and unique buildings. Secondly, the freedom of construction design gives owners an opportunity to fulfil their personal preferences which may vary significantly from person to person. While some may be passionate about a traditional design, others might enjoy a more modern perspective. A building should not be considered a mere shelter but a place where its owner feels a sense of satisfaction and contentment as well. As such, in such circumstances, a loose regulation on the design and construction of buildings is obviously advantageous.
On the other hand, I believe that the disadvantages of this trend are more significant. Firstly, houses and other buildings which are built without any strict or uniform building codes may be vulnerable to serious damage, especially due to natural disasters. A typical example of this are houses in parts of central Vietnam, where there are few regulations from the government on their construction. Due to this lack of government control, whenever a fierce storm strikes the region, thousands of houses lose their roofs, and even worse, are sometimes completely collapsed, leading to both losses of lives and property. Secondly, without strict control on building design, the uniformity of a city can be distorted. This may, in turn, damage the look of the city since the consistency in building design is often accompanied by beauty.
In conclusion, although there are many positive effects of allowing people to freely design their homes or other buildings, it seems to me that these advantages are overshadowed by the drawbacks.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Remove generic article Original: in some cities, the residents Suggested revision: in some cities, residents Why it matters: The generic plural noun "residents" does not need the definite article here.
- 2. Fix vague agreement Original: on how it should be done Suggested revision: on how these buildings should be designed and constructed Why it matters: The plural reference clarifies what the regulations govern and avoids the vague singular pronoun.
- 3. Fix preposition choice Original: on Suggested revision: of Why it matters: The standard collocation is "oversight of" an activity or process.
- 4. Use natural collocation Original: gives Suggested revision: provides Why it matters: "Provides scope" is the more natural formal collocation in this context.
- 5. Use standard term Original: house owners Suggested revision: homeowners Why it matters: "Homeowners" is the conventional single-word term for people who own their homes.
- 6. Choose precise process noun Original: arrival Suggested revision: creation Why it matters: Buildings are created or constructed rather than described as arriving.
- 7. Add relative-clause comma Original: personal preferences which may vary Suggested revision: personal preferences, which may vary Why it matters: The non-defining relative clause adds information about preferences and should be preceded by a comma.
- 8. Match design meaning Original: enjoy a more modern perspective Suggested revision: prefer a more modern style Why it matters: A person can prefer a design style, whereas "enjoy a perspective" does not clearly describe a building preference.
- 9. Fix uncountable noun use Original: a loose regulation Suggested revision: limited regulation Why it matters: "Regulation" refers to the general level of control here and should be uncountable.
- 10. Fix subject-verb agreement Original: A typical example of this are houses Suggested revision: A typical example of this is the housing Why it matters: The singular subject "example" requires the singular verb "is."
- 11. Use active intransitive verb Original: are sometimes completely collapsed Suggested revision: sometimes collapse completely Why it matters: "Collapse" is intransitive in this meaning and should not be placed in a passive construction.
- 12. Fix parallel noun phrase Original: both losses of lives and property Suggested revision: the loss of both life and property Why it matters: The singular mass noun "loss" creates a correct parallel expression with "life" and "property."
Suggested Rewrites
- in some cities, the residents in some cities, residents
- on how it should be done on how these buildings should be designed and constructed
- on of
- gives provides
- house owners homeowners
- arrival creation
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response establishes a clear judgement and supports it through a well-balanced discussion, with especially effective development of safety risks and urban appearance. Organisation and vocabulary are strong, while a few grammatical errors in agreement and passive construction reduce precision; the highest-priority improvement is to proofread complex sentences for accurate subject-verb agreement and natural verb forms.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response directly evaluates both sides, maintains a clear judgement, and supports its claims with relevant explanation and a specific example.
Develop the point about visual uniformity a little further to match the depth of the safety argument.
Coherence and Cohesion
The essay is logically sequenced, paragraphs have clear central topics, and cohesive devices support smooth progression.
Vary the openings of supporting points slightly to make the progression feel less formulaic.
Lexical Resource
A wide and precise vocabulary conveys nuanced ideas effectively, with only occasional slightly awkward combinations.
Prefer natural collocations such as limited regulation over less idiomatic noun phrases such as a loose regulation.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex structures are varied and generally well controlled, though several agreement and passive-form errors remain noticeable.
Check subject-verb agreement and replace faulty passive forms such as are collapsed with accurate active or passive constructions.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some cities have few controls over the design and construction of housing and office buildings. People think that they should be free to choose the design they like. Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.