Would you prefer to live in a traditional house or in a modern apartment building? Use specific reasons and details to support your choice.

Same questionCompare 2 different answers (Band 6.5–7)

Sample Response

1

In big cities variety of houses are available and every living place has some pros and cons. I would like to live in a detached houseget a detached house which is more traditional than a modern apartment. In my opinion to live in a typical house is comfortable, spacious and independent. Multistoried flats are congested and have limitedcompromised space. Home is the place where a man relaxes. If someone owns a house according to his wishes and needs then he can enjoy his life with friends and family. Independent houses are separate buildings with less contact with neighbourswith least contact with the neighbourhood. These houses haveThese houses are having more floor spacea more covered area, garage, small compounds, backyards and rooms for guests. While living in these houses one can manage to park two to four vehicles inside the buildingpark two to four vehicles in building and cars are more protected when they are under the roof. Ultraviolet light is blessing from nature and it kills bacteria, vanishes the smell from rooms and it is in excess in these houses. A man can enjoy gardening in backyards and front lawnslawn and multi coloured flowers add charm to a houseadd the charm in a house. I wouldwill not like to live in an apartment. These small houses do not have parking spacesplace, backyards and separate rooms for guests. Rooms are neither well ventilated nor sunnynot well aerated and sunny and this factor hasput an adverse effect on human health. Multi-storied buildings usually have offices and shopping mallsMalls on a lower flooron lower a floor that is the source of noise and rush. Moreover, activity one floor above or below producesany activity one floor above and one floor down produce discomfort for the inhabitantsthe discomfort to habitants of that floor. Middle-aged and older people cannot sleep deeplyMiddle-aged people and old cannot get deep sleep in a noisy environment. Modern buildings management receives monthly charges for the provisions of lifts, water and cleaning of common areas. In conclusion, I will choose a routine house for living. Traditional houses are having more space and are friendly for domestic activities. I will enjoy exercise, weather, and flowers in day life and take deep and comfortable sleep while at night.

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 6.5

The response states a clear preference and supports it with a broad range of practical comparisons between detached houses and apartments. However, several claims are overgeneralised or loosely explained, and frequent awkward collocations and grammatical errors reduce precision despite meaning remaining clear. Prioritise selecting two or three strongest reasons, developing them more convincingly, and revising sentence-level control rather than accumulating loosely connected details.

Band score breakdown

IELTS Writing Criteria Scores

TR

Task Response

7.0
Scoring rule

The response answers the choice directly and supplies many relevant reasons, though some supporting claims are generalised or insufficiently convincing.

Next step

Develop fewer central reasons with specific, credible explanations instead of listing numerous loosely supported advantages and disadvantages.

CC

Coherence and Cohesion

6.0
Scoring rule

The argument follows a generally clear sequence from the benefits of houses to the drawbacks of apartments, but paragraphing and some transitions are weak.

Next step

Group related reasons into distinct body paragraphs and use clearer topic sentences to show the progression of the comparison.

LR

Lexical Resource

6.0
Scoring rule

Vocabulary is sufficiently varied for the topic, but frequent unnatural combinations and imprecise choices limit clarity and flexibility.

Next step

Replace awkward phrases such as compromised space, routine house, and day life with precise, natural collocations.

GRA

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

6.0
Scoring rule

A mix of simple and complex sentences communicates the main ideas, although article, agreement, and sentence-structure errors occur frequently.

Next step

Focus on subject-verb agreement, articles, and complete clause patterns while simplifying sentences that currently become awkward.

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IELTS Writing Task 2

Would you prefer to live in a traditional house or in a modern apartment building? Use specific reasons and details to support your choice.

Your response

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40:00

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