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.

Same questionCompare 5 different answers (Band 6–7)

Sample Response

1

Some people think that old, historic buildings are not needed in the cityare no need for the city and they should be destroyed and replaced with modern ones. However, other people believe that historic buildings must be preserved so that people can know and remember our pastin order to know and remember our past. For the following reasonsFor several reasons that I will mention bellow, I agree with those people who want to preserve old, historical buildings. FirstFirst of all, by preserving historical buildings, weby preserving historical buildings we pass our history on topass our history to our future generations. I think that our children should know their history, learn from it and respect it. People need to know their traditions and customs, which are priceless and irreplaceable. Our history is our knowledge and power. In my opinion, we need to preserve and restore historical buildings. By destroying them, weBy destroying them we show disrespect forshow our disrespect to our forefathers and their traditions. SecondSecond of all, by preserving historical buildings, a cityby preserving historical buildings a city can attract many travellers. By welcoming tourists, a cityWelcoming tourists a city can gain many benefits, including revenueget many benefits including money, which can be spent on preserving historical buildings as well as on improving roads and facilities. Every city has its own tradition and history which is reflected inthrough mainly in its buildings' art and architecturethe art and creation of the building mostly. Destroying thatthose heritage means destroying its historical value and legacythe old value and history. Also, more tourists create many new business opportunitiesmany tourists mean a lot of new business opportunities. Furthermore,Another important aspect of this is that business ownersbusinessmen will be willing to build new recreational centres, hotels, movie theatres, shopping centres to make a city more attractive to travellers. In addition to those practical benefits, many people will have opportunities to find workhave the opportunity to get a job. All this is good for the local economyeconomy of the city. To sum up, I believe that preserving old, historical buildings can benefit both a city and humanitybring only benefits to a city and all humankind.

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 7.0

The response presents a clear, consistently maintained position and develops two relevant benefits of preservation with logical progression and useful explanation. Its main limitation is the imprecision created by recurring grammatical and collocational errors, while some support remains general rather than grounded in specific examples. The highest priority is to develop each reason with a concrete illustration and then proofread agreement, articles, and word choice.

Band score breakdown

IELTS Writing Criteria Scores

TR

Task Response

7.0
Scoring rule

A clear position is sustained and supported by two relevant, reasonably developed reasons.

Next step

Add a specific real-world or hypothetical example to deepen the support for each main reason.

CC

Coherence and Cohesion

7.0
Scoring rule

Ideas progress logically through a clear introduction, two main lines of argument, and a concise conclusion.

Next step

Use referencing and less formulaic transitions to make connections within and between ideas more natural.

LR

Lexical Resource

6.5
Scoring rule

The response uses a good range of topic vocabulary, though several spelling and collocational errors reduce precision.

Next step

Check word forms and natural combinations, especially in phrases such as historic buildings being unnecessary and destroying heritage.

GRA

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

6.5
Scoring rule

A mix of simple and complex structures communicates meaning clearly despite recurring article, agreement, and sentence-structure errors.

Next step

Proofread noun agreement, articles, and clause construction so complex sentences remain consistently accurate.

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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

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