Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-12

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 6.5)

From the past a decade, a trend in online shopping has increased sharply among consumers. People often argue that it will lead to downfall and closure of all the stores and the cities in the future. However, I disagree with this notion. I will discuss my thoughts in this essay.

Mostly shoppers like to buy items like furniture, clothes, accessories, electronics, shoes, bags, and others by viewing it personally. It helps them to judge the quality, material, design, colour, and manufacturing of the goods. Physical stores in malls and town centers provide the opportunity to the buyers to examine the products physically, whereas online websites provide limited chance to the consumer to decide about the product. Hence, goods bought through an application are often returned as they don't match the expectations. Therefore, it is hard to say that shops and outlets will close in upcoming times.

Additionally, the merchandise sold on online websites are often uploaded by shopkeepers and wholesale manufacturers. Sellers update their inventory and catalogue online to attract buyers across the world. For example. famous brand Chanel buys its stock from local artisans and craftsmen in South Asia and sells it online. Hence, to market a product worldwide, a physical outlet is much needed to facilitate operations like order receiving, packing, processing, and delivering.

In my opinion, it is undeniable fact that the trend of shopping has shifted to advanced options like e-shopping, however, it can not force the shutdown of shops and stores. These shops and stores hold significant value in shopping industry.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed the prompt clearly and maintained a consistent position throughout the essay. You provide relevant reasons for your disagreement, such as the importance of physical inspection for certain goods and the logistical necessity of physical outlets for online businesses. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the example regarding Chanel is slightly confusing, as it conflates high-end luxury retail with local artisan sourcing in a way that doesn't fully support your argument about physical store necessity. To reach a higher band, ensure that your supporting examples are more logically connected to your main points and provide a more comprehensive exploration of the counter-arguments.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Additionally', and 'Hence' to link your ideas. While the progression is generally clear, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and the paragraphing could be more sophisticated. For example, the second paragraph covers a lot of ground, and the link between the 'return of goods' and the 'closure of shops' could be more explicitly stated to improve the flow of your argument. Overall, the structure is sufficient to guide the reader through your reasoning without difficulty.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'inventory', 'catalogue', and 'undeniable fact'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation that prevent a higher score. For example, 'From the past a decade' is grammatically incorrect and unnatural; 'Over the past decade' would be better. Similarly, 'downfall and closure of all the stores and the cities' is slightly awkward phrasing. While your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate your meaning clearly, you should aim to incorporate more precise, topic-specific collocations and avoid repetitive phrasing to show greater flexibility.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation. Examples include 'Mostly shoppers like to buy' (should be 'Most shoppers'), 'provide the opportunity to the buyers' (should be 'provide the opportunity for buyers'), and 'it is undeniable fact' (should be 'it is an undeniable fact'). Additionally, there are issues with article usage and prepositional phrases. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to suggest that you need to focus on refining your control over basic grammatical structures and sentence construction to achieve a higher band.

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

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