Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-05

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 5.0)

3/9/26

Task-II

In past few years, giant shopping complexs has overtake the market causing problem to small businesses. However, it becomes easy for the people to do shopping but harming the economy.

The positives of shopping from big complex are all the things are under one roof and giving people a complete new experience. It is quite difficult for people to shop from different type of phaces under their budget. These supermarkets solve this problem and give them everyday essential things at one stop. For instance Walmart is the first choice of every individual to do shopping. AS it provides variety of options.

The negatives of these shopping complexes is suffering of small business due to

these shopping malls small shops are not able to survive.

Ordinary shops cannot provide everything at one shop and it makes creates inconvenience to people. Furthermore, there is a lack of variety and difference in cost at other locations of products make it hard.

Although, it is a negative development, but its positives outweigh it's negatives as big shopping complexes give variety, budget makes the customer experience smooth.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, which significantly impacts the development of ideas. While you identify both positive and negative aspects, the arguments are underdeveloped and lack sufficient detail or supporting evidence. For instance, the mention of 'Walmart' is a good start, but it is not expanded upon to explain why this shift is a positive or negative development in a broader societal context. The conclusion is also contradictory, as you state it is a 'negative development' but then claim the positives outweigh the negatives. To improve, you must expand your points with clear explanations and examples, ensuring your position remains consistent throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the flow of ideas is often disjointed. While you use some transition words like 'However' and 'Furthermore', the logical progression between sentences is weak. Some sentences, particularly in the third paragraph, are fragmented or lack clear connection to the previous point, such as 'these shopping malls small shops are not able to survive.' The use of cohesive devices is mechanical and sometimes inaccurate, which hinders the overall readability of the text. Improving the use of linking phrases and ensuring each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would greatly enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is limited and repetitive, which restricts your ability to express complex ideas. You rely on basic terms like 'things', 'good', and 'bad' (implied). There are also issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'phaces' (likely meant 'places') and 'everyday essential things'. The range of vocabulary is insufficient to discuss the topic with precision. To reach a higher band, you should aim to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to economics, consumer behavior, and urban development, and focus on using words in their correct context to convey your meaning more effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally impede communication. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('complexs has overtake'), incorrect article usage, and sentence fragments ('these shopping malls small shops are not able to survive'). The sentence structures are predominantly simple, with very few attempts at complex sentences. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of commas and apostrophes (e.g., 'it's negatives'). To improve, you need to focus on basic sentence construction, subject-verb agreement, and proofreading for common errors. Increasing the variety of sentence structures by using subordinating conjunctions would also help.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.