Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-01

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 7.0)

It is often discussed that with the recent technological advancements, online shopping gained popularity among the people and most of the local shops in the towns and cities are facing huge losses. Consequently, all these shops may go out of business. I certainly disagree with this statement, as there are many products which people mostly consider to buy from offline retail shops.

To commence with, shopping online is considered as one stop for all the products because most of the websites provide everything under one roof. Additionally, they also give access to pay through different payment options such as credit card, debit card, and through e-banking. Whereas people often prefer to buy multiple items by personally visiting the store such as furniture, as in online website, individuals are not able to feel the comfort of sofa or bed. Similarly, such products are expensive and there are multiple fake e-commerce sites on the internet which may cause fraud with the clients. Due to these factors traditional stores will remain in business.

Moreover, despite having 24 hour customer support and a strong refund policy, individuals avoid using online apps to buy jewellery items of gold or diamond. This is because, they prefer to trust someone in the market, who has a physical shop and answer their queries anytime. For instance, there are many viral videos on the internet where people make expensive purchases online such as mobile phones and gold coins and ended up getting scammed.

To sum up, shopping from e-commerce websites is convenient and a huge variety of products are available to choose from with different payment options. However, there are multiple risks involved such as leak of banking information or fraud. Additionally, people prefer to buy expensive products such as gold, silver and furniture from their trusted offline stores. Due to these merits, several shops and business remain in market even in future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. You have provided relevant reasons for your disagreement, such as the need to physically inspect high-value items like furniture and the issue of trust regarding expensive goods like jewellery. The ideas are extended and supported with examples, such as the mention of viral videos regarding online scams. To reach a higher band, you could further develop the counter-argument by acknowledging the benefits of online shopping more deeply before refuting them, which would provide a more balanced and nuanced discussion of the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use a range of cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'Additionally', 'Moreover', and 'To sum up' to guide the reader through your arguments. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing could be more fluid. For instance, in the second paragraph, the transition between the benefits of online shopping and the drawbacks of furniture shopping could be smoother to improve the overall flow of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to discuss the topic with some precision. Phrases like 'technological advancements', 'e-commerce websites', and 'physical shop' are used correctly. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'cause fraud with the clients' (should be 'defraud clients') and 'leak of banking information' (should be 'data breaches' or 'compromised banking details'). While you use some less common items, the range is adequate rather than wide. To improve, focus on more sophisticated collocations and precise terminology related to digital commerce.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. You show good control over basic grammar, and your meaning is always clear. There are some persistent errors, such as 'most of the local shops... are facing' (the 'the' is unnecessary here) and 'as in online website' (should be 'on an online website'). Additionally, there are minor punctuation and article errors throughout. While you attempt complex structures, they are not always error-free. Increasing the frequency of error-free complex sentences would help elevate your score in this criterion.

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