Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-10

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In recent years, many small local shops have closed because customers travel to large shopping centres or malls to do their shopping.

Is this a positive or a negative development?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

yes, nowdays many small local shops have closed because people are going to shopping cebntres. It is a positive development because today many people are earning good and also there are so many companies and brands which are even affordable and also in a large shopping malls.

There are different types of clothes you can buy if you go to the large shopping malls because you have very good options.It is also good because in the small local shops the clothes they sell cannot be trusted because of there quality.They dosent have a good options because its small.Tthey cannot be trusted; There are many cases where people have taken clothes from the local shops and they got rashes to there skin because of the quality of the cloths.

Today we can see that even in the large shopping malls an affordeble brand is there, where they have proof that the clothes are are made of which material. if somone dosent like that they can switch to a better brand where the quality is good,that to in the same shopping centre because it has a large amout of options for everyone.

For Example if somes goes to a local shop and want a varity or diffrent colour or size and that shop dosent have it he have to find another shop which in most cases are not nearby.

So my conclusion is tha it is a positive development which is happening nowadays where we people can get easy access to every affordale or expensive brands where there are so many options to see when we travel to large shopping centrers instead of local shops.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you consider the growth of shopping centres a positive development, and you give relevant reasons, including wider choice, access to different brands and the inconvenience of searching several local shops. The example about a local shop not having the required colour or size helps illustrate your point. However, the discussion is only partly developed. The claim that clothes from local shops cannot be trusted and may cause rashes is broad and unsupported, and the response does not consider possible disadvantages of local shops closing, such as reduced convenience for some residents or effects on small businesses. Explain and support your main reasons more carefully, and keep the comparison balanced enough to show why your view is convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an opening states your view, the middle paragraphs give reasons and an example, and the final paragraph restates your position. This makes the overall direction understandable. However, progression between ideas is limited, and several points repeat the same claim about choice and quality. Linking is often mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “also” and “because,” while the example beginning “For Example” is not smoothly connected to the preceding discussion. Some sentences run together without clear punctuation, making relationships between ideas harder to follow. Give each paragraph one distinct purpose, use a wider range of accurate transitions, and make the links between claims and examples explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate your main ideas, including “shopping malls,” “brands,” “quality,” “options,” and “affordable.” However, the range is limited and several words or phrases are repeated, especially “options” and “large shopping malls.” Frequent spelling errors—such as “nowdays,” “affordeble,” “varity,” and “centrers”—make the writing less clear and reduce the accuracy of your word use. Some expressions are also imprecise, for example, “good options” and “a large amount of options.” Build a more varied set of shopping-related terms and check spelling and collocations carefully so your meaning is expressed more precisely.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to connect ideas in longer sentences, for example, “if someone doesn’t like that they can switch to a better brand,” but control is inconsistent. Errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles and punctuation occur frequently and sometimes make the reader pause. Examples include “they have a good options,” “he have to find another shop,” and the run-on construction “quality is good,that to in the same shopping centre.” There is also limited variety in sentence patterns, with many ideas joined using “because” or “and.” Practise accurate simple sentences first, then add subordinate clauses while checking subject–verb agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries.

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