Some people believe that the government should spend more money putting in more works of art like paintings and statues in cities to make them better places to live in. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
Some people believe that governmentsSome feel governments should invest more in public art in cities to boost the quality of life. Personally, I disagree with this ideaI am in disagreement with this idea because it has little practicalactual importance for the average citizen.
On the one hand, public art beautifies a city. A city stripped of all art gives off the dreary appearance of being purely for utilitarian value and the daily rigour of work. In contrast, cities that have invested heavily in public art, such as New York City, offer their residents a beautiful and inspiring home. A child who sees sculptures and murals walking home will feel the city is a nicer place to live and workers passing by works of art will have some emotional relief from the demands of the day. This not only enriches the characterbuilds up the character of urban areas for local inhabitants and instills a sense of pride, but also attracts tourists and professional artists to the city, both of which contribute to a vibrant city.
Nonetheless, public art has little measurable practical valuequantifiable positive value. Most city-dwellers are too engrossed in their hectic schedules to notice public art. This art, therefore, means nothing to most locals, while also diverting an outsized share of a city’s budget. There are more vital areasother more vital areas requiring development such as high-qualityend infrastructure, comprehensive healthcare systemswell-rounded healthcare systems, and modern recreational facilities. Moreover, the public space used to house these works of art cannot be used for practical purposes including critical public facilities like restrooms, bus stops or parks. Those who rely on these other facilities will have more trouble finding them and their quality of life may be somewhat impacted by a preference for art.
Despite the aesthetic value of public art, government bodies should focus more on urban issues that truly matter to their constituents. There must be a degree of balance but it should always tip more towards pragmatic concerns.
Why this response received Band 8.0
The essay offers a clear, nuanced position and develops both the aesthetic case for public art and the practical case against increased spending through a logically sequenced argument. Its main limitation is that some supporting claims, especially about public space and budget allocation, are asserted too broadly; the highest-priority improvement is to qualify these claims and explain the trade-offs with greater precision.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response addresses the question directly, sustains a clear disagreement, and develops both the concession and the central argument in substantial detail.
Qualify the claim that art prevents space from serving practical purposes and explain when this trade-off would actually occur.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument progresses clearly from concession to rebuttal, with cohesive devices and paragraphing supporting an easy-to-follow line of reasoning.
Strengthen the link between the budget argument and the space argument so they read as connected reasons rather than separate objections.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a broad and precise academic vocabulary, with strong control of topic-specific and evaluative language.
Replace slightly strained combinations such as "high-end infrastructure" and "well-rounded healthcare systems" with more natural, exact alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex structures are handled flexibly and accurately, and the few minor punctuation or phrasing lapses do not impede meaning.
Use commas consistently in lists, particularly before the final item in a series, to polish already strong sentence control.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people believe that the government should spend more money putting in more works of art like paintings and statues in cities to make them better places to live in. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.