TOEFL iBT independent writing, Should old, historic buildings be preserved or replaced with modern buildings? -partly rewritten-

Writing Topic

Should a city try to preserve its old, historic buildings or destroy them and replace them with modern buildings? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer.

 

☆Let’s think

A historic building helps us remember historic events, the era, and the related people. Every city has many old, historic buildings and people have valued them, but it often happens that they have to give them up for development. Remember seeing an old structure surrounded by modern buildings. Did you like the scene? If you did not like it, do you still think the city should keep it? Why?

 

 

☆Ideas and Expressions

♦old, historic buildings

1.    They represent our culture, history, and identity. To lose them is to lose all these intangible assets of ours.

2.    They help us learn from the past more effectively than textbooks.

3.    Many old buildings have their distinct beauty.

4.    They benefit tourism.

 

♦modern buildings

1.    They are stronger, cleaner, and more durable than old buildings.

2.    The street view will be more orderly.

 

 

☆Sample short response:

It is better not to destroy old, historic buildings because they effectively help us learn from the past. For example, the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima is a tangible proof of the horror of nuclear weapons. Its bear “dome” on top whose curved steel beams indicate that it was covered with some materials and was a real dome a second before the bomb was dropped. The river next to the building is where people whose whole bodies were engulfed by fire jumped into to escape from pain and thirst and drowned. If we lose the building, this story of horror, a strong message for disarmament, will seldom be told but in books. The city of Hiroshima is now thriving and is full of modern buildings, seemingly oblivious of the tragedy, which actually will never free the mind of the citizens, not to speak of the souls of the dead. Therefore, we need to preserve the building to preserve our history and to save our future.

 

 

Your short response:

It is better

because …

 

 

For example,

 

 

If we lose the building,

 

 

Therefore,

 

 

☆Essay for Ideas and Expressions

Of course a city should preserve its old, historic buildings. New buildings can always be built, but old ones can never be replaced. They are usually more beautiful than modern buildings, they represent the city’s history, and they can even help the city by attracting tourists. Historic buildings should always be preserved.

 

Old buildings are usually very beautiful. Depending on when they were built, they show different periods of architecture. They have a lot of character. They were made by hand, the old-fashioned way. You can feel the person and lives of the people who built them and of the people who have lived and worked in them. Modern buildings, on the other hand, are usually not so beautiful. They seem like impersonal giants that have no character.

 

Old buildings represent a city’s history. Important things may have taken place in an old building. Maybe a peace treaty was signed there or an important meeting took place. A famous person may have lived there. Maybe it was a former president or a famous writer. When we have historic buildings around us, we learn more about our history and we appreciate it.

 

Old buildings attract tourists to a city. People want to see old buildings because they are beautiful or because important things happened in them. If a city has a lot of old, interesting buildings, many tourists will visit the city. That is good for the city’s economy. People usually don’t visit a city in order to see its modern buildings.

 

A city’s old, historic buildings are among its greatest treasures. They are a source of beauty and a representation of history. It would be a crime to try to replace them.

 (Barron’s, Writing for the TOEFL iBT, p.281)