Some people think that old buildings should be knocked down and give way to the new buildings. To what extent do you agree or disagree? How important are old buildings to us?
Sample Response
The construction of new buildings and the demolition of old onesConstruction and destruction of new and old buildings respectively have always been a matter of contention among architects and construction plannersamongst the school of thought of architects and construction planners. Some say that the demolitionthe crumbling down of older derelict buildingsthe older derelict building should be acceleratedshould be made more intensive and that it should be replaced by newer onesreplaced by the newer ones. I completely agree with this standpoint and in the upcoming paragraphs, I shall be explaining this viewtalking about the same.
The first argument for the complete demolitionsupporting idea of the entire obliteration of the old derelictdenuded buildings is the redundancy it has in terms ofin the terms of adding any valueadding values of any sort to the ambience of the city or region they are present in. From the monetary aspect, if we look at it as an asset, it doesn’t have anything to provide or juice out any benefit from. It stays as a drab occupant that, if replacedthat otherwise if had been replaced by an efficient property, could have generated substantial revenue and economic valuea substantial revenue and economy from. Moreover, owing to the growing populationdistending population size, many a time such derelictrepudiated buildings create an unnecessary dearth of space and therefore curb the potential development of a progressive asset. Then, reconstruction of such debilitating buildings doesn’t seem to be a prudential and justifiable action to go ahead with as it takes a considerable amount of money to restore such weakened structuresto convalescence such hollow structures, the money could, however, be used for creating new ones that would be sturdier as well as more economical to invest inmuch economical to invest on.
Another important reason that would make the inclination more angled towards the ravaging of old buildings would be the potential threat they posethe potential threat that it carries for the people that are inhabitants of such buildings and even for the people or living beings and the properties nearby. Given that they are old and rickety, they are generally not even able to bear the shocks of earthquakes and are the first ones to get decrepit from such catastrophes. In such cases too, constructing new buildings isthe establishment of the new buildings are far more pragmatic, profitable and much safer.
Although the older buildings of cultural and traditional essence are the major sources to ensnare and enamour the tourist-gaze, the underlying ill effects of such worn-out structures are doing more harm than good. Moreover, the ones that are neither of heritage importance nor are they sturdy or reconstructable, are blatantly pointless to have.
Conclusively, it could therefore be stated that building newer buildings upon the destruction of the older ones is a better alternative, more often than not.
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response maintains a clear position and organises several reasons for replacing unsafe or uneconomic buildings in a logical sequence. Its main limitation is incomplete balance across the two questions: the importance of old buildings is acknowledged only briefly, while highly ambitious vocabulary is repeatedly imprecise. The highest-priority improvement is to develop the cultural value of old buildings directly and express ideas in more natural, controlled language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The position on demolition is clear and well supported, but the separate question about the importance of old buildings is only briefly addressed.
Devote a fully developed paragraph to cultural, historical, or social importance before weighing that value against safety concerns.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response is clearly paragraphed and progresses logically from economic considerations to safety and a limited concession.
Make the concession paragraph a more substantial part of the argument so the progression reflects both task questions.
Lexical Resource
The response attempts a wide vocabulary, but frequent miscollocations and inappropriate word choices reduce precision and naturalness.
Prefer accurate familiar wording over strained choices such as denuded buildings, convalescence, ravaging, and tourist-gaze.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex structures are frequent and meaning remains generally clear, but agreement, referencing, article, and sentence-boundary errors recur.
Shorten overloaded sentences and check that pronouns, subjects, and verbs agree clearly within each clause.
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people think that old buildings should be knocked down and give way to the new buildings. To what extent do you agree or disagree? How important are old buildings to us?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.