Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-22

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)

It is commonly seen that with the introduction of large scale shopping centers, a number of local businesses have to shut down as no one prefer to go to small stores for shopping. While some people believe, it is convenient to visit a mall than a local shop because it saves their time and fuel costs, the others oppose it as it reduces employment opportunities for underprivileged rural population. Although choosing shopping centers over local venders have a significant impact on the job opportunities in rural areas, the shopping malls offer convenience to society by saving their time as well as by cutting fuel costs.

One of the major reasons why establishment of shopping centers is a beneficial strategy is that it not only saves people's money but also their time. To elaborate, large malls consist of a number of stores with a huge variety of every kind of product which makes it easier for buyers to do shopping as everything is available under one roof. To cite an example, the West mall of Edmonton, Canada in itself, has every variety whether it is clothing, shoes, electronic devices, food courts and many more. As a result, everyone can save a lot of time by directly visit the store of their interest instead of wandering in a local place looking for a product. Additionally, shopping in one place saves purchaser's fuel costs as well. Since all the stores are available in a single unit, they do not need to commute to different places. This also leads to reduced traffic congestion in the areas.

On the negative side, shutting down of local shops have significanlty impacted the lives of local people because of the lack of job opportunities. In the countrysides, mostly residents earn their living by owning and running small shops which are closed owing to the huge popularity of shopping centers. This also hinders the growth of local economy as not many options are left for locals for development and employment.

Taking everything into account, I finally conclude that even though establishment of malls severely impacted local lives and economy, the contribution of these towards saving people's time and money definitely overweigh its drawbacks. Hence, I think, it is a positive development.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by presenting a clear position right from the introduction and maintaining it throughout the essay. Both sides of the argument are explored: the negative impact on local businesses and employment, and the positive aspects of convenience, time-saving, and reduced fuel costs offered by large shopping malls. The ideas are extended and supported with relevant explanations and examples, such as the mention of West Edmonton Mall. While some points, like the socio-economic impact on rural areas, could be slightly more elaborated, the overall development is strong and the position is well-substantiated. This performance firmly aligns with the Band 7 descriptor criteria.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay displays a clear logical organization with a predictable progression from introduction to body paragraphs discussing contrasting views, followed by a definitive conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with each body paragraph focusing on a distinct theme (advantages of malls versus negative impacts on local shops). Cohesive devices are employed reasonably well, including transitional phrases like 'To elaborate', 'Additionally', and 'On the negative side'. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally a bit mechanical or slightly flawed, such as 'the others oppose it' or 'contribution of these towards saving'. Overall, the text is easy to follow and meets the requirements for a Band 6.5 to 7.0 range, comfortably earning a 7.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student demonstrates an adequate to good range of vocabulary suited for a General Training Task 2 essay. Less common items and phrases are attempted, such as 'large scale shopping centers', 'underprivileged rural population', and 'traffic congestion'. However, there are some minor word-choice and spelling inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'no one prefer' instead of 'prefers', 'venders' instead of 'vendors', 'significanlty', and 'overweigh' instead of 'outweigh'. Despite these occasional lexical errors, communication is never impeded, and the range is sufficient to show flexibility and precision, fitting the Band 6.5 or 7 descriptors well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional and concessive clauses such as 'While some people believe, it is convenient to visit a mall...' and 'Although choosing shopping centers over local venders have a significant impact...'. Grammatical control is generally good, but there are some recurring errors, particularly subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'choosing... have' instead of 'has', 'shutting down of local shops have' instead of 'has') and minor prepositional or article slips (e.g., 'directly visit' instead of 'directly visiting'). Despite these persistent minor errors, complex structures are attempted with reasonable success and communication remains completely clear, justifying a solid Band 6.0.

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