Some people believe that more trees should be planted instead of building housing societies. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
This IELTS Writing Task 2 answer was marked Band 8 on the four official criteria. All four criteria were marked at 8. The biggest single improvement: Replace the general evidence in "many cities around the world now require developers" with a named, specific example and explain exactly how it supports the argument.
How it was marked
| Criterion | Band | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Task Response | 8 | The essay addresses both alternatives and presents a clear, consistently maintained position that trees should be planted "within and around new housing, not instead of it." The ideas are well developed through explanations about pollution, urban heat, housing shortages and denser construction, although the example that "many cities around the world now require developers" is somewhat general rather than specifically evidenced. |
| Lexical Resource | 8 | The response uses a wide and precise range of topic vocabulary, including "housing developments," "carbon dioxide," "traffic fumes," "overcrowded housing" and "urban planning." Word choice is natural and appropriately formal throughout, with no spelling or word-formation errors, although a few phrases could be made more technically precise. |
| Grammatical Range & Accuracy | 8 | The essay demonstrates a broad range of accurate structures, including inversion in "Not only do they absorb," a third conditional in "Had planners in Tehran protected," and complex relative and subordinate clauses. Errors are extremely rare, and the sentences remain clear and well controlled throughout, although slightly more structural variety would be needed for a fully exceptional performance. |
| Coherence & Cohesion | 8 | The essay has a clear four-paragraph structure, with ideas progressing logically from the benefits of trees to the practical need for housing and then to a balanced solution. Cohesive devices such as "Not only... but also," "However," "Admittedly" and "Therefore" are used accurately, though the connection between the general example and its conclusion could be made slightly more explicit. |
The answer
A learner answer, not a model answer — study what the marks reward, don't copy it.
Some people argue that new housing developments should be replaced by tree planting. I agree only to a limited extent: trees are essential for healthy cities, but people also need homes, so the best solution is to plant more trees within and around new housing, not instead of it.
Trees provide benefits that cities cannot easily replace. Not only do they absorb carbon dioxide and filter polluted air, but they also reduce summer temperatures and make neighbourhoods more pleasant to live in. These benefits are especially important in crowded cities, where concrete traps heat and traffic fumes affect people's health. For example, many cities around the world now require developers to plant new trees to replace those they remove, which shows that green space can be protected without stopping construction. Therefore, tree planting should be a priority in urban planning.
However, replacing housing with trees is not realistic. Populations keep growing, and without enough homes, rents rise and families are pushed into overcrowded housing. Admittedly, new construction often damages natural areas, but this can be reduced by building taller, denser blocks on land that is already developed, which leaves more space for parks. Had planners in Tehran protected more green space in the 1970s, the city would probably be less polluted today, but it would still have needed new homes for its growing population.
In conclusion, I agree that more trees are needed in modern cities, but not at the expense of housing. Governments should require developers to include green space in every project, so that cities can grow without losing the nature that makes them healthy.
How this answer could score higher
- Replace the general evidence in "many cities around the world now require developers" with a named, specific example and explain exactly how it supports the argument.
- Develop the proposed compromise beyond "building taller, denser blocks" by identifying which natural areas should be protected and why this would meet both housing and environmental needs.
- Increase grammatical sophistication through more varied complex structures, such as the concessive pattern "Although new construction often damages natural areas, adopting taller, denser designs can reduce this impact."
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