Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-21

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)

In recent years purchasing online things is becaming more popular day by day. I agree with this view at some extent, i believe that buying stuff online lead to shut down the shops as both have their importance and values.

On the one hand there are several reasons i am agree with that statement ,the primary reason is number of people shopping online increased by vast numbers as compared to the past. This is mainly because of internet and best technologies now days. As a result people sit their homes and shop that will lead to decrease the selling things in shops

On the other hand, I believe that there are also significant limitations to this view. another compelling reason is that it saves lots of time now days people their time and they are busy doing their chores no one have time to go out and buy stuff this is largely because of that people value their time and money now days. For instance if somebody have to go buy a bag of diappers of their own choice sometime its not availabe on one shop than you have to go to other that take so much time and effort so instead of that you can just go online and select what you want will come on your doorsteps.

Consequently, somethings you cannot buy online and you dont know how it will delivered so their are lots of scammers also that leads to people little bit scared to buy things online so they went for market to buy stuff. That is why i cannot compleatly agree with this situation

In conclusion, although I agree that Online growth of shopping is becaming more popular as compare to go for shops , I do not believe that leads to shut down of shops is entirely accurate. Overall, I am of the view that both have their own importance and values, mainly because people time and money.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both sides of the argument regarding online shopping. However, the position is somewhat inconsistent; the introduction states agreement with the view, but the conclusion suggests the opposite. The ideas are relevant but lack depth and clear development. For instance, the argument about 'scammers' is introduced abruptly without sufficient explanation of how this impacts the long-term survival of physical shops. To improve, ensure your position is clearly stated in the introduction and maintained consistently throughout the essay, and provide more detailed supporting evidence for each main point.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the flow between ideas is often mechanical or disjointed. While some cohesive devices like 'On the one hand' and 'In conclusion' are used, they are sometimes applied incorrectly or in a way that does not logically connect the sentences. For example, the transition between the benefits of online shopping and the mention of 'scammers' is abrupt. Additionally, the use of referencing is occasionally unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the progression of the argument. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring each paragraph has a clear, singular focus would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There is a reliance on basic, repetitive phrasing such as 'buying stuff' and 'go out and buy stuff'. Some word choices are inaccurate, such as 'purchasing online things' instead of 'online shopping' or 'e-commerce'. There are also minor spelling errors like 'diappers' and 'compleatly'. To achieve a higher score, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary related to the topic, such as 'consumer behaviour', 'retail landscape', or 'digital transformation', and focus on using words in their correct collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede readability. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('buying stuff online lead to'), missing articles, and incorrect verb tenses ('they went for market'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with several run-on sentences and missing commas. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors prevents the text from reaching a higher band. Focusing on basic sentence construction, subject-verb agreement, and proofreading for punctuation errors will significantly improve the clarity and accuracy of your writing.

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

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