Should a city protect old buildings or replace them with housing?

A band 6 model answer to a real TOEFL iBT writing question in the official format, with notes on why it scores. Write your own version below it and get an instant rater-style score.

The question

Your professor is teaching a class on architecture. Write a post responding to the professor's question. In your response, express and support your opinion and add to the discussion in your own words. A strong response has at least 100 words. Professor Duarte: Many older buildings in city centres are expensive to maintain and hard to adapt. When a city urgently needs housing, should it protect these buildings or replace them with modern flats? Ruth: Protect them. Once a building comes down, that street loses its character permanently, and character is not something a city can order later when it has the money. Amir: I would build the flats. Nostalgia is comfortable for people who already own homes. Families who have waited years for somewhere to live cannot eat the character of a street.

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Band 6 model answer

Amir is closer to the truth, though Ruth's point should not be dismissed entirely. The honest question is who pays for character. A protected facade in a city with a housing shortage is, in effect, a subsidy from families in temporary accommodation to people who already have a view they like, and that is hard to defend in those terms. What I would add is that the choice is usually presented as demolition or preservation when the real options are wider. Many old buildings will carry three or four extra floors, and converting a warehouse is often cheaper than clearing a site and starting again. So my rule would be narrow protection: keep what genuinely cannot be reproduced, convert everything else, and stop treating age on its own as an argument.

Why this answer earns band 6

Takes a side, then reframes the question rather than repeating the two positions offered.
Names both students and answers Ruth's concern instead of ignoring it.
The closing rule is concrete and testable, which reads as developed reasoning rather than opinion.

Do not memorise model answers; raters recognise recycled essays instantly. Study the moves, then make them with your own ideas, and check where you stand with a scored practice.

Questions about this answer

What band is this model answer?

It is written to band 6, and the notes under it quote the answer's own words to show why.

How long should my answer be?

This model answer is 131 words, and the task asks for at least 100.

What is the most common mistake with a model answer?

Memorising it. Raters recognise recycled answers instantly, so study the moves, then make them with your own ideas.