Should old buildings be preserved rather than demolished?
The question
Some people believe that old buildings should be preserved and maintained, while others think they should be demolished and replaced with modern ones. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
How to answer it
Sitting on the fence fails this one. The sharpest structure is to concede the replacement case fully — old buildings are expensive to heat, hard to adapt, and cities need housing now — and then argue that the choice is rarely all-or-nothing: retain the facade and structure, gut the inside. Give one real example of a converted building and the essay stops being generic.
What moves the band
- Cost is the strongest argument against you; answer it directly rather than ignoring it.
- Useful lexis: retrofit, listed building, adaptive reuse, embodied carbon, past its useful life.
These are candidate recalls. These are questions reported by test-takers after their exams, not official or leaked IELTS material. Wording varies by test version, location and memory. Use them for timed practice — never as a prediction of what you will be asked.
Practise these next
Know the number. Now move it.
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