Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-07-25

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

The growth of online shopping will one day lead to all shops in towns and cities closing.

Do you agree or disagree?

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

 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

There is an debate on going that online s hopping will lead in town and cities. Theses shopping will reduce the craze of local shops from the market. I am disagree with this statement due to some reasons which I discussed in the following paragraphs.

The reason behind, Firstly immediate Gratification & Physical Touch: Buying items in person eliminates waiting for delivery. Customers still prefer trying on clothes, testing electronics, or inspecting fresh groceries before buying.

Rise of "Experiential" Retail: Shopping centers are shifting from pure sales spaces into social hubs offering interactive experiences, flagship brand showcases, cafes, and events.

Services Can't Be Digitized: Many town-center businesses require physical presence—hair salons, gyms, cafes, restaurants, tailors, and repair shops cannot operate online.

The "Hybrid" (Omnichannel) Model: Major retailers are combining both worlds through "Click and Collect" (buying online and picking up in-store), which drives foot traffic to physical locations.Social & Leisure Aspect: For many people, spending time in towns and shopping with friends or family is a recreational activity that online browsing cannot replace.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, reaching only 173 words. This significantly impacts the development of ideas, as the points provided are presented as a list rather than fully developed paragraphs with supporting evidence or examples. While you clearly state your position, the lack of elaboration means the task is only partially addressed. To improve, you must expand each point into a full paragraph, providing specific examples or logical explanations to support your arguments, ensuring you meet the length requirement to allow for a comprehensive discussion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay lacks a standard structure. Instead of cohesive paragraphs, you have used a bulleted list format, which is not appropriate for an IELTS essay. While the ideas are logically grouped, the absence of transition words and proper paragraphing makes the flow mechanical and disjointed. To achieve a higher score, you should use full sentences and link them with cohesive devices such as 'furthermore', 'consequently', or 'in addition'. Ensure each main idea is contained within a well-structured paragraph with a clear topic sentence.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with some good topic-specific terms like 'immediate gratification', 'experiential retail', and 'omnichannel'. However, there are some errors in word choice and phrasing, such as 'There is an debate on going' (should be 'an ongoing debate') and 'I am disagree' (should be 'I disagree'). The range is somewhat limited due to the brevity of the response. To improve, focus on using more varied vocabulary and ensuring accurate collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains several grammatical errors, such as 'online s hopping will lead in town and cities' (missing object/meaning) and 'Theses shopping' (incorrect pluralization). Sentence structures are mostly simple or fragmented due to the list format. There is a lack of complex sentence structures, which are necessary for higher band scores. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement, correct article usage, and incorporating a variety of complex grammatical structures, such as relative clauses or conditional sentences.

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