Some people think that governments must insist on preserving traditional appearance of old buildings undergoing renovation or redevelopment. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the statement?
Sample Response
There has always been a disagreement regarding the restoration of historic structures on whether or not to keep the look intact. While some people opine that such constructions need to be reinvented, others would argue that it is better to keep the old look. I completely agree with the notion of renovating the structures without changing the appearance. This essay will put forth the reasons that support the latter view.
First of all, most of these buildings were constructed at the time when the cities were being constructed. In other words, these buildings not only hold history but also evoke memories which narrates the past. For instance, in Toronto, Canada, many old buildings are being renovated where the engineers are preserving the same look because the locals regard it as a part of their history.
Moreover, many buildings act as tourist attractions where people from all over the world come to visit them. If the government decides to change its appearance, then tourists might not be interested to visit. For instance, many architectures undergo major rebuilding due to fire that completely wiped out this famous landmark. Nevertheless, the government and engineers’ main concern was to reconstruct in the same manner as it was before the fire. This is because the appearance is vital for the attraction of the tourists to the spot.
In conclusion, the facade of ancient buildings should be kept intact not only for their inherent values but also because their locations are among the most preferred by the tourists. Therefore, the authorities must allow old buildings to keep their original look after some modernization.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use precise noun Original: constructions Suggested revision: buildings Why it matters: 'Buildings' is the precise noun for the historic structures under discussion.
- 2. Correct renovation verb Original: reinvented Suggested revision: redesigned Why it matters: Buildings can be redesigned, whereas 'reinvented' is unnatural for physical renovation.
- 3. Correct collocation Original: hold Suggested revision: embody Why it matters: 'Embody history' naturally expresses that the buildings represent the past.
- 4. Fix subject agreement Original: which narrates Suggested revision: that narrate Why it matters: The plural antecedent 'memories' requires the plural verb 'narrate'.
- 5. Fix clause connection Original: renovated where the engineers Suggested revision: renovated, and the engineers Why it matters: 'Where' cannot logically connect the renovation action to what the engineers are doing.
- 6. Use suitable relative Original: where Suggested revision: that Why it matters: The attractions are the object people visit, so 'that' is more precise than a place adverb.
- 7. Fix pronoun agreement Original: its Suggested revision: their Why it matters: The pronoun must agree with the plural noun 'buildings'.
- 8. Correct verb pattern Original: interested to visit Suggested revision: interested in visiting Why it matters: The adjective 'interested' is followed by 'in' and a gerund.
- 9. Use countable noun Original: architectures Suggested revision: buildings Why it matters: 'Architecture' is not normally used as a countable noun for individual buildings.
- 10. Match past event Original: undergo major rebuilding Suggested revision: underwent major reconstruction Why it matters: The past-tense form and the noun 'reconstruction' fit the described completed event.
- 11. Clarify shared possession Original: government and engineers’ main concern Suggested revision: main concern of the government and engineers Why it matters: The revised possessive structure clearly assigns the concern to both parties.
- 12. Add missing object Original: to reconstruct in the same manner as it was Suggested revision: to reconstruct it as it was Why it matters: 'Reconstruct' requires an object, and the shorter comparison is grammatically complete.
Suggested Rewrites
- constructions buildings
- reinvented redesigned
- hold embody
- which narrates that narrate
- renovated where the engineers renovated, and the engineers
- where that
Why this response received Band 7.0
The essay maintains a clear position and organises two relevant reasons around historical value and tourism, with generally effective paragraphing. Its main limitation is that development relies on vague or logically incomplete examples, and recurring agreement, reference, and word-choice problems reduce precision. The highest priority is to replace the unclear examples with specific, fully explained evidence while proofreading noun forms, pronoun reference, and verb agreement.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The task is addressed with a consistent position and two relevant main ideas, but some explanations and examples are vague or insufficiently substantiated.
Use one identifiable example for each reason and explain directly how preserving the exterior protects historical or economic value.
Coherence and Cohesion
The essay follows a clear introduction-body-conclusion structure, although some referencing is imprecise and the progression within examples occasionally weakens.
Use precise referents for buildings, governments, and examples, and ensure every supporting sentence advances the paragraph's central claim.
Lexical Resource
The response shows a sufficient range for discussing preservation and tourism, but several inaccurate choices and collocations reduce naturalness.
Replace misused terms such as architectures and interested to visit with accurate forms such as buildings and interested in visiting.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentence forms are used with some flexibility, but recurring agreement, pronoun, and clause-control errors remain noticeable.
Proofread plural references and subject-verb agreement, especially in relative clauses and sentences that shift between buildings and a single landmark.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people think that governments must insist on preserving traditional appearance of old buildings undergoing renovation or redevelopment. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the statement?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.