Should a city try to preserve its old, historic buildings or destroy them and replace them with modern buildings? What is your viewpoint on this issue? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.
Sample Response
It is believed that old, historic buildings are not useful to the community and they occupy space in an already premium location. Take Colosseum of Rome for example, the building occupies a lot of space in the middle of a city but it has more advantages that compensate for the loss of premium due to land cost. It can be argued that contemporary buildings have more advantages than disadvantages by analysing the impact due to culture and revenue from tourism in these buildings.
The rich cultural and heritage of our ancestors can only be passed down to future generations through such structures. The structure is evidence of history and portrays itself to provide a comparison of lifestyle evolution since the recorded history. As an illustration, Eiffel tower standing tall in the centre of the city was built about a century ago. It clearly is not having any useful money generating purpose apart from tourism. However, the future generations can take it as a proof for the existence of scholars who could build skyscrapers which could last several centuries without the use of modern technology and equipment. The pride of owning such engineering marvel is priceless.
Secondly, the government’s spending to preserve this building is benefitted multiple folds through the revenue generating by touring individuals. The revenue generated from the Tirupathi temple, for instance, accounts for the second largest revenue generating source after tax revenue in case of Andhra Pradesh. Hence, it can be clearly seen that the amount of effort and the time invested by city authorities could fetch a very attractive return over investment than building modern structures.
On the other hand, due to the migration of people from countrysides and population expansion within cities, there is a huge demand for real estate space. There is increasing pressure on local governments to demolish heritage buildings due to inefficient use of space inside them. For instance, Singapore which has a total area of 27 km2 cannot afford to have a large colosseum. These days, though, local bodies are coming up with innovative ideas like moving an entire building by fitting wheels under them. Such techniques can be used instead of destroying the culture and revenue from them.
In short, preserving a historic building within a city proves to be a highly valuable proposition than replacing them with modern buildings. Hence it is recommended to city officials for looking into every possible alternative than demolishing the historic monuments.
(by- Vasudevan)
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use natural land phrase Original: in an already premium location Suggested revision: on already-valuable land Why it matters: Premium does not naturally describe a location in this construction, while the revision conveys the intended land value.
- 2. Clarify economic meaning Original: loss of premium due to land cost Suggested revision: opportunity cost of the land Why it matters: The replacement accurately names the value forgone when valuable land is used for the building.
- 3. Correct building reference Original: contemporary Suggested revision: historic Why it matters: The following references to culture and tourism concern historic buildings, so contemporary contradicts the sentence's own evidence.
- 4. Use concise noun phrase Original: impact due to culture Suggested revision: cultural impact Why it matters: Cultural impact is the natural collocation for this idea.
- 5. Clarify tourism revenue Original: revenue from tourism in these buildings Suggested revision: tourism revenue generated by these buildings Why it matters: The revision states the revenue relationship more precisely.
- 6. Use parallel nouns Original: cultural Suggested revision: culture Why it matters: Cultural is an adjective, but the coordinated phrase requires two nouns.
- 7. Use direct verb Original: portrays itself to provide Suggested revision: provides Why it matters: The original reflexive construction is unnatural and obscures the intended function.
- 8. Clarify historical comparison Original: comparison of lifestyle evolution Suggested revision: view of how lifestyles have evolved Why it matters: The revision expresses the historical change in natural, precise English.
- 9. Correct time expression Original: since the recorded history Suggested revision: throughout recorded history Why it matters: Throughout fits a period extending across recorded history, and history takes no article here.
- 10. Capitalize proper name Original: Eiffel tower Suggested revision: the Eiffel Tower Why it matters: The landmark's proper name is capitalized and normally takes the definite article.
- 11. Use simple present Original: is not having Suggested revision: does not have Why it matters: Have is stative in this meaning and therefore takes the simple present rather than the progressive.
- 12. Fix noun construction Original: as a proof for Suggested revision: as proof of Why it matters: Proof is uncountable in this sense and conventionally takes of.
Suggested Rewrites
- in an already premium location on already-valuable land
- loss of premium due to land cost opportunity cost of the land
- contemporary historic
- impact due to culture cultural impact
- revenue from tourism in these buildings tourism revenue generated by these buildings
- cultural culture
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response develops a substantial case for preserving historic buildings, with clear attention to heritage, tourism revenue, urban pressure, and alternatives to demolition. Its main limitation is an introductory sentence that appears to favour contemporary buildings, conflicting with the sustained position elsewhere, while several examples and expressions lack precision. State the preservation viewpoint unambiguously from the outset and verify or qualify the factual support.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Several relevant reasons and examples support preservation, but the apparent reversal in the introduction and questionable factual details weaken the position.
State the preservation view consistently from the introduction and use accurate, clearly explained evidence for each reason.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas are logically grouped into effective paragraphs covering heritage, revenue, urban pressure, alternatives, and the final judgement.
Make the thesis align with the body argument and tighten transitions so every paragraph advances the same position.
Lexical Resource
The response shows a good range of vocabulary for heritage, tourism, engineering, and urban development, despite recurring awkward collocations.
Refine expressions concerning cultural heritage, tourism revenue, land value, investment returns, and preservation alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A variety of complex structures conveys meaning clearly, but errors with articles, agreement, comparison, prepositions, and verb forms recur.
Edit comparative structures and passive constructions carefully, then check article and pronoun consistency throughout.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Should a city try to preserve its old, historic buildings or destroy them and replace them with modern buildings? What is your viewpoint on this issue? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.