The Case for Keeping Some Spaces Unplanned
About this practice test
An argumentative essay considers how lightly managed urban spaces can support ecological value, informal social use, curiosity and flexibility, while acknowledging safety and maintenance concerns.
What you’ll practice
Finding detail
Locate specific information and evidence.
Interpreting ideas
Connect main points and inferences.
Evaluating arguments
Assess claims, evidence, and limitations.
What to expect:
12 questions with explanations to review after submission.
Study the questions and tasks
Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.
- Practice level
- B2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.
- Question formats
- Yes / No / Not Given
How to approach this practice
Read the passage for its main idea, then return to the relevant sentence or paragraph for each question. Base answers on the passage.
The Case for Keeping Some Spaces Unplanned
City planners usually do well when they make public spaces safer, easier to cross, and pleasant to use. Planning can reduce danger and help people move through a city without confusion. But not every corner of a city needs a fixed job. In The Case for Keeping Some Spaces Unplanned, I argue that a few areas should be left open to chance. That does not mean they should be dirty or dangerous. It means they should not be overdesigned from the start. An unplanned space can become many things in one day. A strip of ground beside a railway might be a shortcut in the morning, a place for children to explore after school, and a quiet spot for someone to sit in the evening. Because the uses are not locked in, people notice details they would otherwise ignore: a tree that has survived between fences, a patch of gravel warmed by the sun. When everything is named in advance, curiosity has less to work with. The place still has form, but it does not speak too loudly. These spaces also have environmental value. Self-seeded plants can cool a site, soften hard edges, and hold rain after a storm. In a city that is getting hotter, even a rough patch of green can be useful. Yet keeping a space unplanned is different from walking away. Some places need barriers, cleaning, or basic maintenance. If a site is full of broken glass or hidden holes, no amount of romantic language will make it welcome. The case is not for neglect. It is for enough restraint to let life begin before the final drawing is complete. That flexibility also matters across seasons. In summer, a bare patch may be a place to sit in shade or leave a bicycle for a minute; in winter, the same ground may gather puddles, footprints, and leaves. Residents often read these small shifts as signs that the neighbourhood is still open to them. The space does not need to host a formal event every hour to justify itself. Its value can lie in the fact that it can be used, noticed, or simply crossed without anyone asking permission. Unplanned areas are especially important because they can be shared without heavy rules. A basketball court is excellent where sport is the point, but a small unfenced strip beside a station can matter more than a heavily designed square. Teenagers may gather there, older residents may pass through, and someone carrying shopping may rest for two minutes. These small, in-between places are often less efficient than carefully programmed ones, but life in a city is not only a problem of efficiency. People need room that is not already claimed by an activity, a ticket, or a booking. Critics often say that empty spaces invite litter or feel unsafe. Sometimes they do. A neglected lot can become a magnet for trouble, and a city should not pretend otherwise. Even so, the answer is not to turn every gap into a hard-edged object with a single function. In practice, highly controlled spaces can become brittle. They may look tidy on a map while offering little comfort or imagination to the people who use them. The strongest cities are not those that squeeze the most use from every corner, but those that leave room for change. I am not arguing against parks, paths, or sports grounds, and I am not suggesting that planning has failed. I am arguing for balance. A city should be legible, but not overwritten. If planners leave a few spaces unplanned, local habits, weather, and chance can shape them over time. That flexibility can make a neighbourhood feel less sealed and more alive. It reminds residents that a city is not only built once; it is also discovered, day by day, by the people who walk through it.
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Question 1 · Yes / No / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the writer’s or speaker’s view. Choose Not Given when the view is not stated.
The writer thinks highly controlled spaces always give people more imagination than flexible ones.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Yes
- No
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- No
No. The passage says highly controlled spaces "may look tidy on a map while offering little comfort or imagination to the people who use them." That is the opposite of the statement, and the word "always" makes the claim even stronger than the passage allows.
highly controlled spaces can become brittle
offering little comfort or imagination to the people who use them
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Question 2 · Yes / No / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the writer’s or speaker’s view. Choose Not Given when the view is not stated.
The writer believes public money should first go to spaces that are easy to photograph.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Yes
- No
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Not Given
Not Given. The passage gives reasons for leaving some spaces unplanned, but it never mentions public money or photographs as criteria. That specific belief is not stated.
I am arguing for balance
A city should be legible, but not overwritten
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Question 3 · Yes / No / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the writer’s or speaker’s view. Choose Not Given when the view is not stated.
The writer believes self-seeded plants can make city spaces environmentally useful.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Yes
- No
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Yes
Yes. The passage says, "Self-seeded plants can cool a site, soften hard edges, and hold rain after a storm." That is an explicit environmental benefit. The statement matches the writer’s evaluation.
Self-seeded plants can cool a site, soften hard edges, and hold rain after a storm
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Question 4 · Yes / No / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the writer’s or speaker’s view. Choose Not Given when the view is not stated.
The writer regards basic maintenance of unplanned areas as contrary to their purpose.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Yes
- No
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- No
No. The writer distinguishes flexible use from neglect and explicitly allows barriers, cleaning and basic maintenance. Such maintenance is compatible with keeping a space unplanned.
Yet keeping a space unplanned is different from walking away. Some places need barriers, cleaning, or basic maintenance
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Question 5 · Yes / No / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the writer’s or speaker’s view. Choose Not Given when the view is not stated.
The writer thinks local councils should measure the success of unplanned spaces by visitor numbers.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Yes
- No
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Not Given
Not Given. The writer discusses use, comfort, imagination, and flexibility, but never says that councils should use visitor numbers as the measure of success. That policy is not stated in the passage.
life in a city is not only a problem of efficiency
The strongest cities are not those that squeeze the most use from every corner
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Question 6 · Yes / No / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the writer’s or speaker’s view. Choose Not Given when the view is not stated.
The writer believes unplanned spaces should only be placed beside railway lines.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Yes
- No
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- No
No. The railway example is only one illustration of how an unplanned space can work. The writer’s broader point is that "not every corner of a city needs a fixed job," so the idea is not limited to railway edges.
A strip of ground beside a railway might be a shortcut in the morning
not every corner of a city needs a fixed job
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Question 7 · Yes / No / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the writer’s or speaker’s view. Choose Not Given when the view is not stated.
The writer thinks naming every place in advance reduces curiosity.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Yes
- No
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Yes
Yes. The passage states, "When everything is named in advance, curiosity has less to work with." That is the writer’s direct view. The other options do not fit because the writer is not praising complete planning and is not saying curiosity increases.
When everything is named in advance, curiosity has less to work with
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Question 8 · Yes / No / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the writer’s or speaker’s view. Choose Not Given when the view is not stated.
The writer thinks a rough patch of green can be useful in a hotter city.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Yes
- No
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Yes
Yes. The passage says, "In a city that is getting hotter, even a rough patch of green can be useful." This directly supports the statement. It is not just a neutral mention; it is a clear approval.
In a city that is getting hotter, even a rough patch of green can be useful
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Question 9 · Yes / No / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the writer’s or speaker’s view. Choose Not Given when the view is not stated.
The writer believes every empty gap in a city should be turned into a hard-edged object with a single function.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Yes
- No
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- No
No. The passage says, "the answer is not to turn every gap into a hard-edged object with a single function." That directly rejects the statement. The writer prefers balance, not total conversion of all gaps.
the answer is not to turn every gap into a hard-edged object with a single function
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Question 10 · Yes / No / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the writer’s or speaker’s view. Choose Not Given when the view is not stated.
The writer believes unplanned spaces are most important at the centre of a city.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Yes
- No
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Not Given
Not Given. The passage talks about railways, stations, neighbourhoods, and city balance, but it never says that the centre of a city is the most important place for unplanned space. That specific hierarchy is absent.
A strip of ground beside a railway might be a shortcut in the morning
A city should be legible, but not overwritten
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Question 11 · Yes / No / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the writer’s or speaker’s view. Choose Not Given when the view is not stated.
The writer believes city planners should consult artists before deciding to leave a space unplanned.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Yes
- No
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Not Given
Not Given. The passage discusses balance, restraint, and local change, but it never mentions consulting artists as part of the decision. The writer’s view on that specific step is not stated.
I am arguing for balance
A city should be legible, but not overwritten
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Question 12 · Yes / No / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the writer’s or speaker’s view. Choose Not Given when the view is not stated.
The writer believes a city should leave some areas without a fixed purpose.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Yes
- No
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Yes
Yes. The passage says that "not every corner of a city needs a fixed job" and that "a few areas should be left open to chance." The writer clearly supports unplanned space rather than rejecting it.
not every corner of a city needs a fixed job
a few areas should be left open to chance
What to review next
Find the words that support each answer. For a mistake, compare the question with the evidence and identify the detail or inference you missed.
A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.
Before you practise: a worked example
Look for evidence in the text. Separate what the writer says from what you already know about the topic.
The library normally closes at six, but on Fridays it stays open until eight. When does it close on Friday?
The answer is eight. But introduces an exception to the normal closing time, so the first time mentioned is not the answer.
This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.