Positive or Negative Development IELTS: Structure

The notes below paraphrase the public IELTS Writing band descriptors and the task pages already used on this site. The descriptor file itself is marked as updated in May 2023. This page does not reproduce that scale, and it does not award a band. A script has to fit the positive features of a band as a whole.

Task Response is whether the essay answers the question. Use the Task Response band 6 to 7 guide when the judgment disappears after the introduction. The public Task 2 minimum is 250 words, and the word count guide explains what a short answer does to the evidence for a higher band. First person is not a published penalty. The guide to using “I” covers where that pronoun helps. The four criteria are mapped in the band descriptors guide.

What this prompt looks like

The question names a change, then asks you to judge it. “Is this a positive or negative development?” and “Do you think this is a positive or negative development?” ask for that judgment. The prompt has already stated the change. You do not have to prove that it is happening.

The judgment can sit beside a second question. “Why is this happening? Is this a positive or negative development?” has two parts, and each needs a developed paragraph. This site’s two-part question page is that shape. The Task Response guide notes that public preparation material treats a missing part of a two-part prompt as incomplete coverage. A prompt with only the judgment has one main part.

An advantages prompt asks you to discuss both sides. This prompt asks for the judgment. You may mention the other side. The answer is still positive, negative, or mainly one of those.

Keep one judgment visible

Band 7, as this site’s word-count page paraphrases the public scale, addresses all parts of the task, keeps a clear position throughout, and extends and supports main ideas. Band 6 can cover some parts more fully than others. Its position can be relevant while the conclusions are unclear, unjustified, or repetitive, and some main ideas may be inadequately developed. Band 7 still allows support that over-generalises or lacks focus.

The position here is the judgment. “This change is negative for people who cannot travel to the new shop” is a position. “There are positive and negative aspects, and it depends” names the topic and withholds the judgment. Put the judgment in the first paragraph and the same judgment in the last. If a body paragraph takes the other side, the next sentence says why that point does not change the view.

“I think this is a negative development” and “Replacing the local shop is a negative development” both state the view. The first-person guide is the longer note on the pronoun. The reason after the view is the part that has to be extended.

One-sided and balanced answers

A one-sided answer develops the judgment you chose. Both body paragraphs give reasons for that side. A short limit can sit inside a paragraph, and the paragraph still ends on the same side as the introduction.

A balanced answer also has one judgment. “Mainly negative” is balanced when one paragraph develops the cost and the next develops the benefit, then says why the benefit does not outweigh the cost. A list of good points and bad points, closed with “there are both”, has discussed the topic. Finish “This is mainly ___ because ___” before you draft.

Choose the balanced shape when the other side is strong enough that ignoring it would make the claim too wide. Choose the one-sided shape when you have two separate reasons and the other side is a single clause.

A paragraph-by-paragraph structure

Use four paragraphs. This prompt was written for this page. It is not a past paper. “In many cities, large supermarkets are replacing small neighbourhood food shops. Is this a positive or negative development?”

Introduction. Name the change, then the judgment and the limit. “Large supermarkets are taking the place of small food shops. This is a negative development for residents who shop on foot, even though a supermarket can be cheaper for people who can travel to it.”

Body paragraph 1. One reason, with a person and a situation. The walk to a shop on the same street is a situation. After the shop closes, the same purchase may need a bus or a car. “It is bad for society” is a label. “This destroys every community” is wider than the example.

Body paragraph 2, balanced. Give the other side a real point: one building, a cheaper own-brand item, a weekly shop for a household that can get there. Then keep the judgment. That saving does not replace a shop within walking distance.

Body paragraph 2, one-sided. A second reason, not a repeat of the walk, such as the shopkeeper who notices what a regular customer needs. A one-clause limit can close the paragraph.

Conclusion. Repeat the same judgment and the reason that carried it. Add no new topic.

Academic Task 2 is academic or semi-formal, and General Training Task 2 is semi-formal or neutral. “I now take a bus for milk” can support the walking-trip paragraph when the link is visible.

Common mistakes

• Ending on “there are advantages and disadvantages”. The prompt asked which judgment you support. The last paragraph has to say it.
• Explaining why the change is happening when the prompt only asked for a judgment, or giving only the judgment when the prompt also asked why. Each question in the prompt is a part of the task.
• A second body paragraph that takes the opposite view and stops. Add the sentence that keeps the original judgment.
• A reason that stays a label, such as “convenient” or “bad for society”. Name the person and the situation.
• Stopping under 250 words. The public pages say a short answer may not show enough of the language features needed for a higher band. Writing more than 250 words is not penalised for length, and there is no published maximum. See the word count guide.

A sample answer

The essay below was written for this page. It is not a past paper, not an examiner comment, and not a score. It is written to illustrate band 7+ features in the public descriptors: the prompt is answered, the position stays clear from the first paragraph to the last, and the main ideas are extended and supported. A real band still depends on the whole script. Only an official IELTS test assigns an examined band.

Prompt. In many cities, large supermarkets are replacing small neighbourhood food shops. Is this a positive or negative development?

Large supermarkets are taking the place of small food shops in many neighbourhoods. I regard this as a negative development for people who live nearby. A supermarket can sell a wider range at a lower shelf price, but that benefit depends on being able to travel to it.

The first loss is the short trip that a local shop makes possible. A resident who needs bread or milk can walk to a shop on the same street, often after work, without planning a larger outing. When that shop closes, the same purchase may mean a bus ride or a car journey, and a person who does not drive has fewer ways to buy ordinary food. The change does more than move the point of sale. It changes who can shop without extra time or transport.

A supermarket does offer a genuine benefit. One building can stock fresh food, household goods, and a cheaper own-brand item side by side, so a household that can get there may spend less on a weekly shop. That saving does not restore the option for someone who cannot make the trip, and it does not replace a shopkeeper who notices when a regular customer needs a particular product. A lower price on a shelf across the city helps only the person who can reach that shelf. For that reason, the wider range does not outweigh the loss of a shop within walking distance.

Replacing neighbourhood food shops with large supermarkets is therefore a negative development. The price and the range are real, and they help the household that can travel. The neighbourhood loses a shop that people can use on foot.

What the sample is written to show

On Task Response, the judgment is present throughout. The walking trip and the cheaper range are extended, and the claim stays on those situations. “I regard” appears once. The conclusion adds no new topic. This illustrates those features. It is not a mark.

This site’s checker accuracy article paraphrases Band 7 Coherence and Cohesion as logical organisation, with cohesive devices that may still be slightly under-used or over-used. The sample moves from judgment, to cost, to the benefit held inside that judgment, then back to the same judgment.

The essay is a full Task 2 answer, above the public minimum of 250 words. The word count guide explains that 250 words meets the published minimum and that the band still depends on the four criteria, which the public scoring page weights equally.

A check before you stop

1. The introduction names this change and states positive, negative, or mainly one of those.
2. If the prompt also asks why the change is happening, that cause has its own developed paragraph.
3. Each body paragraph has a person and a situation, not only a label such as “convenient” or “bad for society”.
4. Any paragraph on the other side ends by keeping the original judgment.
5. The last paragraph states the same judgment as the first. It does not add a new topic.
6. The answer is at least 250 words of connected sentences. Notes and bullet points are not the answer.

Read the judgment beside the question

Paste the essay with the question. A last paragraph that only says “there are two sides” is easier to see beside the prompt. If the second body paragraph could sit in an essay with the opposite view, it is not yet holding your judgment.

The IELTS Writing Checker takes Task 1 and Task 2, and the main form starts on Task 2. The Task 2 checker is locked to the essay. The methodology page describes the product as a diagnostic and revision tool. Feedback is organised around the four public criteria. A band estimate shows a likely bottleneck. It is not an official IELTS score. The form runs from 50 words and stops at 400, which are product limits. A complete Task 2 answer is still at least 250 words. Read Task Response for the judgment.

What this page is not claiming

This site is not affiliated with IELTS, the British Council, IDP, or Cambridge English. The band descriptions here paraphrase the public Writing descriptors so you can revise a draft. They are not the official wording, and they are not a result. Only an official IELTS test assigns an examined band. The descriptors ask for a clear position and for ideas that are extended and supported.

The supermarket essay was written for this page. It illustrates the band 7+ features named above. It is not an official sample and not a score.