Example Agree/Disagree IELTS Writing Task 2 Prompt

It is now possible to order almost any item over the Internet and have it delivered to
one’s home. As a result, people are no longer patient or careful in their shopping habits.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? Give reasons for your
answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Example Response
Online shopping and home delivery causes concerns that consumers may become
more hasty and less cautious. However, I do not believe that online shopping has this
effect. In fact, I would say that the opposite is true. In this essay, I will discuss the
reasons that online shopping actually helps shoppers make smarter choices.

Internet shopping actually makes people more patient while they shop, not less patient.
This is because, even with home delivery, online shopping is actually less “instant” than
traditional shopping in stores. After all, if someone goes into a store, they can leave
minutes later with the items they purchased. However, even the fastest delivery
methods for online goods take at least a day. As a result, people are actually more
accustomed to longer waits before they receive something they’ve bought.

Not only does online shopping make buyers more patient, it also facilitates careful,
informed choices for buyers. This is because there is more competition between
different sellers online than there is in a single store. If someone goes to a store in
person, they will see a relatively small range of brand names, and they certainly won’t
see the offerings of other stores. In contrast, online customers can compare just about
every brand of any given product and browse the websites of multiple stores. This gives
customers all the information they need to make the best possible purchases.

When shopping on the Web, customers can learn patience because they must wait for
their items to be delivered to them, and even more importantly, customers can access
all of the information they need to choose the right items. Ultimately, online shopping is
truly a positive development, not a negative one.

Word count: 283
Why This Essay is Band 9
This is a very strong essay because it satisfies the level descriptors in the official IELTS
Writing Task 2 rubric. Read that official score guide carefully and compare it to this
essay, and you’ll see why the example above scored so well. Also, for a more detailed
band 9 level score report from Magoosh, see the scorer commentary immediately
below.
Scorer Commentary (agree/Disagree IELTS Essay, Band 9)
This score report is patterned after the official level descriptors for IELTS Writing Task
2. This report also looks a lot like the Magoosh IELTS essay scoring service.
Overall Band Score: 9
What was done well in the essay:
 This essay is above the 250 word minimum. (This is very important for getting full
points!)
 The writer does a good job of meeting the task requirements. They take a clear
position where they favor online shopping and disagree with the claim that it
makes people less careful or patient.
 The paragraphs are well organized. The introduction and conclusion clearly
preview the essay and give good final thoughts, respectively. The body
paragraphs each have their own well-organized topics. The first body paragraph
 provides good explanations and examples to show that online shopping doesn’t
make people less patient; the second paragraph provides comparable support to
the idea that online shopping allows people to be more careful.
 There are some nice key phrases to tie ideas together. Examples include
“however,” “in fact,” “actually,” and “not only.”
 Vocabulary and grammar show no serious errors, and a good variety of word
choice and structure.