Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-01
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 6.5)
The growth of online shopping will one day lead to all shops in towns and cities closing. I completely agree with this statement. In my view, the online shopping market witnessed a drastic growth after the Covid-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, it was struggling, however, the government imposed lockdown during the pandemic gave the online shopping market a push and the trend started increasing since then.
Recently, some of the high-end brands closed their physical stores in the United Kingdom and became completely online. Therefore, brands are cutting of their additional costs and improving their online presence to meet the growing demand of online shopping market.
There are so many online platforms that people use for their day-to-day shopping. For example Amazon, ebay, tiktok, etc. All these platforms are trusted platforms and allow only reliable sellers to sell. These platforms have made life much convenient, as everything you want is just one click away. Furthermore, these platforms also offer free shipping so it also saves your travel expense.
On the other hand, it is worth noting that the shopping trend keeps evolving. If I look at the current trend of online shopping in Pakistan, I would say that people are turning back to physical stores. The reason is that online market is not well regulated by the regulators. The risk of fraud is very high so the customers does not fully trust online shopping platforms.
Therefore, in conclusion, I would say that 'yes' the growth of online shopping will one day lead to all shops in towns and cities closing, especially in the first world countries where the online market is well regulated. However, I doubt if I can say the same about the third world countries at the moment because of lack of regulation and oversight by the authorities.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5
The response addresses all parts of the task and presents a clear position, satisfying the requirements for the mid-bands. The writer agrees with the prompt initially, noting the impact of the pandemic and the shift of high-end brands to online platforms, such as in the United Kingdom. However, the development is somewhat uneven. While points regarding convenience and free shipping are relevant, the introduction of a counter-argument regarding Pakistan shifts the focus and somewhat contradicts the absolute stance taken in the introduction. To reach a higher band, the ideas need to be more fully and consistently developed throughout the essay, maintaining a cohesive line of argumentation without abrupt pivots that undermine the main position.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the response into logical paragraphs. The writer uses basic cohesive devices effectively, such as 'Furthermore', 'Therefore', and 'On the other hand', which helps guide the reader through the progression of ideas. However, paragraphing and referencing occasionally feel slightly mechanical or abrupt, particularly the transition between the discussion of global platforms and the specific regional example involving Pakistan. To achieve a higher level, the essay would benefit from smoother transitions between paragraphs and more flexible use of referencing to connect complex ideas seamlessly from start to finish.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items and phrasing such as 'drastic growth', 'high-end brands', and 'day-to-day shopping'. Communication is generally clear, despite some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as writing 'cutting of their additional costs' instead of 'cutting off' or simply 'cutting', and 'makes life much convenient' instead of 'more convenient'. Spelling throughout the text is accurate. To reach the next level, the student needs to use a wider variety of sophisticated lexical items with greater precision and awareness of natural collocations.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like conditional clauses and relative clauses effectively. There are some grammar and punctuation errors present, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('the customers does not fully trust' instead of 'do not') and missing articles ('lack of regulation' or 'in first world countries'). However, these errors are relatively infrequent and rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the arguments easily. To move higher, the writer must produce a greater proportion of error-free complex sentences and demonstrate finer control over articles and subject-verb agreement.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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