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)

In recent years, there has been a growing view that over the past decade, e-commerce has expanded rapidly and people believe that physical shops in towns will eventually disappear. This may raise a range of arguments from both sides, however, I strongly agree with this and will discuss my claim in further paragraphs.

The foremost argument to justify my stand is that, many people are working full-time and they hardly get time to go out for shopping, sometimes going out for shopping takes a longer time than usual so they find order online much easier option and this trend could force a large number of shops to close. To cite an example, according to a report by "Times Now" 80% of citizens purchase everything online in Africa.

Furthermore, online applications and websites are giving more discounts than in-person shops because they don't have any rent or staff costs to cover and which attracts consumer to buy things online rather than going in-person. Moreover, another reason to prove my point is that customers get more options to choose from when they are buying online compare to in-person shops and some online companies come up with new feature of same-day delivery or 10-minute delivery so if a customer need something urgently they can buy it online and will be delivered to their door step.

In conclusion, because online shopping is faster, cheaper and more convenient, I strongly believe it will increasingly replace traditional shops in towns and cities, which clearly demonstrates the validity of my point.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by presenting a clear position agreeing with the statement that online shopping will eventually lead to the closure of all physical shops. The ideas presented are generally relevant, such as the convenience of online shopping and cost advantages due to lower overheads for digital retailers. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others; for instance, the assertion that 80% of citizens purchase everything online in Africa is cited as an example, but it lacks broader elaboration to fully support the argument. To move towards a higher band, the writer needs to extend all supporting points with deeper explanations and more robust, universally applicable examples rather than broad statistical claims.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear stance established in the introduction and reinforced in the conclusion. Paragraphing is utilised appropriately to separate distinct arguments. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. Phrases used to connect ideas, such as 'Furthermore' and 'Moreover', are occasionally linked together in long, breathless sentence structures like 'Moreover, another reason to prove my point is that customers get more options...', which affects the natural flow of information. Referencing and logical progression are mostly clear, but mastering smoother, more flexible cohesive devices without relying on repetitive transitional chains would elevate the organizational quality.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'e-commerce', 'overhead costs', and 'convenient'. Communication is not impeded by lexical choices, reflecting a solid foundation. However, there are notable word-choice inaccuracies and awkward collocations, such as using 'order online' instead of 'ordering online', and phrasing like 'go out for shopping' instead of simply 'shopping'. Additionally, repetitive reliance on words like 'online' and 'in-person' limits lexical variety. To reach the next band, the student should incorporate a wider selection of precise vocabulary and demonstrate greater control over collocations and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an ability to construct multi-clause sentences. There are examples of correct grammatical structures, but the writing also contains several errors in grammar and punctuation. For instance, run-on sentences appear due to comma splices and missing conjunctions, such as in the second paragraph where multiple clauses are joined improperly without adequate punctuation. Preposition and article usage also show occasional lapses, such as 'door step' instead of 'doorstep' or missing articles before singular nouns. The presence of these errors places the grammar firmly at this level, where structures are mixed, but mistakes do not impede overall comprehension.

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