Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-20

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 6.5)

In the contemporary era, it has been noticed that local stores have to close down because people consider large malls over local stores to do their shopping. In my opinion, this is a negative development as this will result for the show owners to lose their income.

One major drawback for this development is that local owner shop owners lose their source of income and local employment opportunities decline. Since large shopping centres attract more customers due to the low pricing, variety, and advertising. This forces the local shops to shut down. Consequently, business owners will have no source of income and the number of unemployment can increase in the local community. For instance, family owned shops may lose customers to the malls which will eventually force them to close their shop.

Moving further, local communities lose convenience and personal customer service. This is because, local shops are usually located in the residential areas from where people buy their daily essential goods without having to travel far. If the local stores will be replaced by the large shopping centres it will make it harder to shop for the elderly and for the people without vehicles. Consequently, consumers will have to travel long distances to buy everyday products. Additionally, shop owners provide satisfactory customer service because they know their customers and make a personal connection with them based on daily interaction.

In conclusion, although large shopping centres offer greater variety and competitive prices, I believe the closure of small local shops is a negative development. It can harm independent businesses and employment opportunities while also reducing the personalised service and convenience that local shops provide to communities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task, clearly stating that the closure of local shops is a negative development. The position is consistent throughout the essay. The ideas regarding economic impact and community convenience are relevant and well-supported with logical explanations. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat standard; to reach a higher band, the student could provide more specific, real-world examples beyond general statements about 'family owned shops' or 'the elderly'. The response is well-structured and fully answers the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central topic sentence. Cohesive devices such as 'consequently', 'moving further', and 'in addition' are used effectively to link ideas. However, there are minor issues with flow; for example, the sentence 'Since large shopping centres attract more customers due to the low pricing, variety, and advertising' is a sentence fragment that disrupts the flow. Despite this, the progression of ideas remains clear throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the message clearly. The student uses appropriate topic-specific terms like 'employment opportunities', 'residential areas', and 'competitive prices'. There is an attempt to use a range of vocabulary, though it remains somewhat predictable. Some minor inaccuracies occur, such as 'result for the show owners' (should be 'result in shop owners losing'). While the range is adequate for the task, it lacks the more sophisticated or idiomatic control required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are clear, there are several grammatical errors. For instance, 'the number of unemployment can increase' is awkward (should be 'unemployment rates can increase'), and 'If the local stores will be replaced' uses an incorrect tense for a conditional structure. Punctuation is generally accurate, but the occasional error in sentence construction prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. The majority of sentences are understandable, and errors do not impede communication.

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