Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-06

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)

It is believed that all shops in towns and cities will shut down one day due to the growth of online shopping. I totally disagree with this statement due to some reasons will be discussed in the paragraphs.

To commence with, there are numerous causes why all offline stores will not close in the future. First and foremost, no doubt the popularity of online shopping is increasing day by day but there are still a lot of individuals who only like shopping from shops in cities or town because of the quality that they cannot find in online shopping; however, in online shopping they only have to depend on reviews. Moreover, in shops individuals can try clothes before buying which is the plus point of offline purchasing, but in online they always face size issues, colour mismatched and so on and they are unable to return due to not having return or exchange policy on that particular product. As a result, they waste their money on unnecessary items. For example, in India 80% of individuals are

dependent on offline shopping

instead of online.

Moving ahead, stores or shops provide employment to thousands of individuals which is the another reason why it will not close in the future because there are various villages or cities where people are only dependent on these shops for their livelihood and closing these store means destroying their source of income. Additionally, stores always sell fresh products compared to online. To explain, people do not buy grocery items from online because they always receive old and stale items.

To recapitulate, according to the aforementioned reasons one can reach the conclusion that the benefits of stores or shops are instrumental indeed because it offers fresh products, employment and people can try things and it should not be replaced by online.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by clearly stating a disagreement with the idea that all shops will close. The position is maintained throughout the essay. Ideas are relevant, such as the importance of physical interaction with products and the economic impact on employment. However, some arguments are slightly under-developed or rely on generalizations, such as the claim that 80% of Indians rely on offline shopping without a clear source, or the absolute statement that online grocery items are always 'old and stale'. To reach a higher band, you should provide more nuanced explanations and avoid sweeping generalizations that may not be universally true.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use some cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'Moreover', and 'To recapitulate' to guide the reader. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or repetitive. The transition between ideas within paragraphs could be smoother; for instance, the jump from employment to the freshness of groceries in the second body paragraph feels abrupt. Additionally, some referencing is slightly unclear, such as the use of 'it' in 'it will not close', which could refer to either 'stores' or 'shops' depending on the reader's interpretation. Improving the variety of linking words would enhance the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your meaning clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'livelihood', 'instrumental', and 'offline purchasing'. However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and collocation errors, such as 'colour mismatched' (should be 'colour mismatches') and 'plus point' (which is slightly informal). The range of vocabulary is sufficient but lacks the sophistication or precision required for higher bands. To improve, focus on using more academic collocations and avoiding informal phrasing to elevate the tone of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include 'due to some reasons will be discussed' (missing 'that'), 'the another reason' (incorrect article usage), and 'people do not buy grocery items from online' (should be 'online' or 'from online stores'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some run-on sentences and minor errors in subject-verb agreement. To improve, focus on mastering complex sentence structures and proofreading for small errors like missing relative pronouns and incorrect prepositions.

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

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