Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-18

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 6.0)

In this contemporary era, people often purchase goods and services online as they feel it is affordable and convenient. Some people believe that it will lead to the closure of all physical stores in town and cities one day. However, others think that online shopping never replace the experience that people get in shops. This essay will examine the reasons that why online shopping never close all shops in towns and cities.

One of the major reasons is lack of confidence in online shopping. Although people have increasingly spent their money for shopping online, but they feel more confident to purchase large furniture items, electronics and clothes in stores. Moreover, customers notice that products are slightly different in shape, size and colour that shown on website after receiving physically. Hence, there is a trust and reliability concerns.

Another reason is urgency. Local stores are not only helpful in urgent situations but also become reliable to exchange, return and refund policies after making any purchase. So, online shopping growth is a good but it would never shut local stores. Nevertheless, customer service is far better in local stores because person can visit, return or exchange their products anytime. Charges are bit high because it includes delivery and handeling charges if person wants to purchase online, perhaps not in local shops.

In conclusion, growth of online shopping is a positive growth in this competitive era because shoppers prefer to buy products online becuase of their busy schedules. However, it will never lead to close local stores, because individuals prefer to visit, try and purchase products from indigenous and trusted stores.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt directly, presenting a clear position that online shopping will not lead to the total closure of physical stores. The student introduces relevant arguments, such as the lack of confidence in online purchases for certain goods, tactile verification needs, and the importance of urgency and customer service. However, some of these ideas are slightly underdeveloped or repetitive, particularly in the body paragraphs where points about returns and customer service overlap. Furthermore, the phrasing in the introduction contains a minor contradiction ('online shopping never replace' followed by 'reasons that why online shopping never close'). Despite these minor issues, all parts of the task are addressed with a consistent, clear position throughout, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptor.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay has a clear overall arrangement with a standard four-paragraph structure comprising an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. Cohesive devices are employed to link arguments, with words like 'Although', 'Moreover', and 'Nevertheless' attempting to guide the reader. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, 'Hence, there is a trust and reliability concerns' contains a grammatical slip that disrupts the cohesive link, and the transition into the third paragraph relies heavily on simple transitional words rather than sophisticated flow. Overall, the logic is discernible and the essay progresses adequately, meeting the requirements for a Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'contemporary era', 'affordable and convenient', and 'indigenous and trusted stores'. However, there are notable lexical and collocational inaccuracies throughout the text. For example, the student writes 'online shopping never replace' instead of 'will never replace', uses 'handeling' (spelling error) instead of 'handling', and writes 'becuase' (spelling error). Phrases like 'online shopping growth is a good' are slightly unnatural. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning, the presence of these errors and spelling mistakes prevents the response from achieving a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, attempting conditional and subordinate clauses such as 'Although people have increasingly spent their money for shopping online, but they feel more confident...' (which contains a double-marking error with 'Although' and 'but'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings present, including subject-verb agreement issues ('there is a trust and reliability concerns') and missing modal verbs ('online shopping never replace'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while these errors are noticeable, they rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the argument without severe difficulty. This balances out as a solid Band 6 performance.

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