Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-07-28

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 7.0)

Nowadays, a growing number of people are visiting big shopping centres instead of small shops, because it provide them varities of choices, quality products or other facilities which hard to get in small shops. Therefore, big malls gain huge popularity among the local community. However, it will be responsible for the closing of small shops and create unemployment among the country. Hence, this trend brings both positive and negative development for people and business.

On the positive side, large shopping centres or malls act as an one-stop destination for all things. For instance, they offer them refreshment sources like theaters, game zones and food courts during shopping. Moreover, these malls provide them plenty of options in one item, which is branded and better quality as compare to product of small shops. Sometimes consumers get discounts, cashback or vouchers on their purchase, which cold be challenging to receive from other stores. Also, background music, classic furniture and architecture of big malls catch consumers' attention and they frequently like to visit these centres in order to spend quality time with their friends and family.

On the negative side, closing of small shops create unemployment among the local community and build financial pressure on the governments and person who are connected with local business. Moreover, it would be challenging for them to fulfil the basic needs of their family due to financial problems. Overall this situation decrease the economy of their family and could be hard for them to raise their standers of living. However, small shops sales handcrafted items, which are unique, different and difficult to witness in the big malls.

In conclusion, increasing number of people travel so far in order to visit large shopping centres, as it access them wider choice of items, branded products, save their budget and eye-catching view of ambience. However, local people are reliant of small shops to run their family, so closing of small shops build financial burden on them and address huge unemployment in the society.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all parts of the prompt by discussing both the positive and negative aspects of the trend. Your position is clear from the introduction, and you provide relevant supporting points for both sides. However, some ideas could be developed further. For instance, the negative impact on the economy is mentioned, but it could be supported with more specific reasoning regarding how local supply chains are disrupted. Overall, the response is well-balanced and directly answers the question, meeting the requirements for a Band 6.5 or 7.0. I have awarded a 6.5 as the development of the negative side is slightly less detailed than the positive side.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, with an introduction, body paragraphs for both sides, and a conclusion. You use cohesive devices such as 'On the positive side', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion' to guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with referencing, such as 'this situation' in the third paragraph, which could be more explicitly linked to the previous sentence. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the flow between sentences could be improved for better cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, including terms like 'one-stop destination', 'handcrafted', and 'financial burden'. There are some instances of awkward word choice or minor errors, such as 'it provide them varities of choices' (should be 'varieties') and 'address huge unemployment' (should be 'cause' or 'lead to'). While you attempt to use less common vocabulary, some collocations are slightly unnatural. The range is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, but more precision is needed to reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('it provide', 'closing of small shops create') and article usage ('an one-stop', 'the country'). Additionally, there are some spelling and word-form errors, such as 'cold' instead of 'could' and 'standers' instead of 'standards'. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your argument, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall fluency and accuracy of the writing.

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