Many old buildings protected by law are part of a nation’s history. Some people think they should be knocked down and replaced by news ones. How important is it to maintain old buildings? Should history stand in the way of progress?
Sample Response
It is a fact that some governmentgovernments are preserving many historical buildings these days. A group of people believe that protecting these old buildings is considered a wasteis considered as a waste of money, as they should be demolished and replaced with new buildings. I personally believe that maintaining an old building is essential, since the building has great historical valuea lot of historical values, and it would be unique to see cities that combinecombined modern and historical buildingsthe modern and historical buildings together.
It is believed that protecting some historical buildings is important since they have historical valuevalues. Many of the buildings have witnessedhad become the witnesses of some special or tragic moments of a particular country; therefore, they should be preserveda particular country, therefore it should be preserved. One exampleOne of the examples would be the Fatahilah Museum in Central Jakarta, Indonesia. It is an old building that was erected during the Dutch colonial era in the 18th century and was formerly usedformerly used as a prison to punish rebelspunish the rebellion. Now, it is maintained by the Government as a museum to commemorate the people who had sacrificed their liveslife for the independence of Indonesia.
Some cities are still protecting their historical buildings, though new high rise buildings are showing up in the surrounding area. The historical buildings are maintained by the state government and they are standing along with the new skyscrapers. Many people believe that the combination of these old and modern buildings hashave made the city Deletebecome fascinating and attractive. As a result, they become popular tourist destinationsone of the tourist destination places. Some of the cities that have preserved them would be Beijing, London and Paris, and more than thousands of people have visited these metropolis cities.
In conclusion, retaining the historical buildings is definitely an important thing, because they had become eye-witnesses of some important events. And it is a fact that combination of old and modern buildings brings a lot of benefits for the city and the country as well.
Topic: Many old buildings are protected by law because they are part of a nation's history. However, some people think old buildings should be knocked down to make way for new ones because people need houses and offices. How important is it to maintain old buildings? Should history stand in the way of progress?
Why this response received Band 6.5
The essay presents a clear case for preserving historic buildings and supports it with a specific museum example and the idea that old and new architecture can coexist. However, the question of whether history should obstruct progress is answered mostly by implication, and the duplicated task wording after the conclusion disrupts the finish. Develop the trade-off between preservation and modern needs directly, then remove copied prompt material.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
A clear position and relevant examples address the importance of preservation, while the progress question receives less direct development.
Explain explicitly when preservation should yield to housing or infrastructure needs and justify the proposed balance.
Coherence and Cohesion
The main paragraphs follow a logical progression, though some linking is mechanical and the appended prompt repetition breaks coherence.
End with the conclusion and use clearer internal links between historical value, coexistence, and the broader idea of progress.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a reasonably broad topic vocabulary, but recurring collocational and word-form problems reduce precision.
Improve combinations such as 'historical value', 'tourist destinations', and 'metropolitan cities' while reducing repeated wording.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex structures are attempted and meaning remains clear, but agreement, articles, tense, and sentence-boundary errors recur throughout.
Prioritise subject-verb and pronoun agreement, particularly where plural buildings are followed by singular verbs or references.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Many old buildings protected by law are part of a nation’s history. Some people think they should be knocked down and replaced by news ones. How important is it to maintain old buildings? Should history stand in the way of progress?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.