Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-07

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 growing popularity of shopping online will become a prominent reason to shut down all local businesses one day. I partly agree with this statement because although some people will do more and more shopping online due to the hectic lifestyle, other individuals will prefer to shop in person. Therefore, while local shops may face a negative impact on their profits, they will not close completely.

On the one hand, online platforms are known to be the best for shoppers due to their hassle-free convenience. Since they provide door-to-door delivery in a few days, this saves buyers valuable time, which can be utilized to complete other tasks. For example, most employees work extended hours and do not get enough opportunities to shop in person, even to buy household items. Therefore, they place orders online to receive them directly at their doorsteps. Consequently, the local shops can not generate substantial revenue because fewer people shop from them, which reduces their sales and profits.

On the other hand, small businesses can provide an excellent experience to customers by providing discounts and the ability to exchange products easily. Whilst products available online are mostly non-exchangeable or non-refundable, local shop owners tend to take their products back without incurring any issues. To illustrate, a person can get a full refund or different items as per their choice if they do not like it. This type of facility can only be available from shops located locally, which will encourage people to purchase from them. Hence, they will never close in the future either.

In conclusion, admittedly, online shopping has made people's lives easier by limiting the requirement to shop in person and hurts local businesses' sales. However, local shops will not close completely.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear: you partly agree that online shopping will harm local businesses, but you do not expect all shops to close. You address both sides and support them with relevant examples, such as employees ordering household items online and customers valuing easy exchanges in local shops. This meets the task well. However, the two arguments are not equally developed: the online-shopping paragraph explains the effect on sales, while the case for local shops relies heavily on refunds and exchanges. The claim that this facility is available only locally is too absolute, since online retailers may also offer returns. To strengthen the response, explain other reasons people may continue visiting shops, such as seeing products in person or receiving immediate service, and qualify broad claims.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction states your position, two body paragraphs present contrasting arguments, and the conclusion restates your view. The progression within each paragraph is generally easy to follow, and linking phrases such as “On the one hand,” “For example,” and “Consequently” help show relationships between ideas. This is a coherent arrangement, though some connections feel mechanical because several sentences begin with explicit transitions such as “Therefore,” “Hence,” and “To illustrate.” There is also a slight mismatch between the introduction’s balanced position and the conclusion’s emphasis on the negative impact of online shopping. Use a wider range of referencing and transitions, and make the conclusion reflect both sides of your argument more evenly.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “hassle-free convenience,” “door-to-door delivery,” “substantial revenue,” and “non-refundable.” These choices communicate the main ideas clearly, and you attempt some less common expressions. At times, however, word choice or collocation is imprecise: “a prominent reason to shut down” does not naturally express the idea that online shopping may cause shops to close, and “the best for shoppers” is broad and informal. “The requirement to shop in person” is also less natural than “the need to shop in person.” Aim for more precise, natural combinations and avoid repeating “local shops” and “shop” where alternatives such as “retailers,” “stores,” or “in-person shopping” fit. These refinements would make the vocabulary more flexible and accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses with “although,” “since,” and “if,” and most sentences are understandable. Some grammatical and punctuation errors remain. For example, “this saves buyers valuable time, which can be utilized” has an unclear reference: it is the time, rather than the delivery, that can be used. In “a person can get a full refund or different items as per their choice,” the singular subject and pronoun are not well matched, and the sentence would be clearer with a plural subject or a rephrasing. The comma before “However” in the conclusion is also followed by an unnecessary double space. Review pronoun reference, agreement, and punctuation, while continuing to use complex structures; greater consistency would improve accuracy.

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