Band 7 IELTS Essay Sample (Technology): A Full Task 2 Answer, Analysed

If you are aiming for Band 7 in IELTS Writing Task 2, the single most useful thing you can do is read a real Band 7 essay — not a polished Band 9 model, and not a list of tips, but an answer that actually scored 7 across all four criteria, with its strengths and its remaining slips pointed out. That is what this page gives you. The sample below is a technology-topic essay from our IELTS essay bank, and we walk through exactly why it earns Band 7 and what would push it to Band 8.

What a Band 7 essay has to do (quick checklist)

Before the sample, here is the short version of what separates Band 7 from the Band 6 wall just below it. Use it as a self-check on your own writing.

Criterion	What Band 7 looks like
Task Response	Clear position held throughout; every main idea extended with a reason and a specific example
Coherence & Cohesion	One clear idea per paragraph; a range of linkers used naturally, not just Firstly / Secondly
Lexical Resource	Accurate topic collocations (a rise in productivity, retraining schemes); only occasional word-form slips
Grammatical Range & Accuracy	A variety of complex structures; the majority of sentences completely error-free

Notice what is not on the list: length, and rare "advanced" vocabulary. Band 7 is about control and development, not word count. You can try the prompt yourself first on the automation of factory work practice page before you read the sample.

The prompt

This is a positive-or-negative development question on a technology theme — one of the most common Task 2 frames:

Robots and automated machines are carrying out an increasing share of the work in factories that was once done by human hands. Is this increasing automation of manufacturing a positive or negative development?

The Band 7 sample answer

Here is the full response, quoted from the essay bank. Read it once for the argument, then read the analysis that follows.

The essay opens by framing the debate and stating a clear position: automation is, "on balance, a positive development." It then builds three body paragraphs — productivity, safety, and the human cost of job losses — before a short conclusion. Two ideas do most of the work:

• Productivity. Machines "can operate around the clock without breaks" and work with a precision humans cannot maintain over a long shift, so goods cost less to make.
• Safety. Robots take over dangerous tasks — "handling toxic chemicals, operating heavy presses or working in extreme heat" — leaving staff in safer, more skilled supervisory roles.

Crucially, the essay does not ignore the downside. It concedes that displaced workers, "particularly older employees with few qualifications, often struggle to find new employment," then answers that objection with a solution: government and employer investment in "retraining schemes" so workers can move into maintenance, programming or logistics. You can read the complete text on its essay bank page.

Why it scores Band 7 — criterion by criterion

Task Response: 7

The question is answered directly and the position is clear in the introduction and maintained to the end. Each main idea is extended and supported rather than just listed, and the negative side is genuinely addressed and then answered — that give-and-take is a Band 7 habit. What holds it at 7 is that some support over-generalises: the claim that savings "are often passed on to consumers" is asserted rather than explained. A Band 8 answer would give the mechanism (competition between manufacturers forces prices down).

Coherence & Cohesion: 7

Every body paragraph has one central topic — productivity, safety, job losses — and a range of cohesive devices is used appropriately: "As a result," "for instance," and the reference "this problem." The fourth paragraph turns from the objection to the writer's response with "However." There is still some reliance on familiar signposts ("On the other hand," "In conclusion"), which is exactly why it is a 7 and not an 8, but the progression is always clear.

Lexical Resource: 7

The vocabulary is where a lot of Band 7 candidates and Band 6 candidates diverge, so this is worth studying closely. The essay uses precise topic collocations — "a rise in productivity," "retraining schemes," "displaced workers" — and the natural idiom "around the clock." These are ordinary words used accurately, not rare words dropped in to impress. The slips that keep it at 7 are word-form and spelling errors: "a big lost of income" should be a large loss of income, and "who's jobs" should be whose jobs. For more topic language of this kind, see our technology vocabulary list.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: 7

There is a real variety of complex structures used with control: a concessive opening ("Although this trend…"), non-defining relative clauses, a conditional ("If governments and employers invest…"), and a contrast built with "not caused by the technology itself but by a lack of support." Most sentences are error-free. A few agreement slips remain — "Electronic devices and household appliances … has become" (should be have become) and "logistics, which is growing sectors" (should be which are) — and at Band 8 the great majority of sentences must be completely clean.

Band 6 vs Band 7 vs Band 8: the same prompt

The clearest way to fix Band 7 in your mind is to read the same prompt answered at three levels. We wrote all three:

• Automation — Band 6: answers the task but develops ideas thinly and makes frequent grammar slips.
• Automation — Band 7: the sample above — extended ideas, accurate collocations, mostly error-free.
• Automation — Band 8: precise phrasing, the objection defeated rather than just noted, near-flawless grammar.

Reading one criterion (say, Task Response) across all three versions makes the jump concrete in a way descriptors never can. For a deeper walkthrough of that method, see Band 6 vs 7 vs 8 on one prompt.

How to turn this sample into your own Band 7

Reading a model does little on its own. This routine is what actually moves your score:

1. Write your own timed answer first on the automation practice page — before you look at the sample.
2. Score yourself against the checklist at the top of this page, one criterion at a time. Be honest about which paragraph sits at 6.
3. Fix your weakest criterion only. Most people are, say, a 7 on Task Response but a 6 on grammar — and the average is what caps your score. If grammar is your gap, our guide on going from Band 6 to Band 7 in writing breaks it into drills.
4. Get an objective second opinion. Paste your essay into our free IELTS writing checker for a free sample score and per-criterion feedback that flags the collocation and agreement slips a self-review usually misses. (See pricing for current free limits.)

More technology prompts to practise

Automation is only one technology theme examiners use. Practise these too, then check your answer against the four criteria above:

• Artificial intelligence at work — a positive/negative development question.
• The growth of online learning platforms — technology meets education.
• Social media and friendship — a discussion prompt.
• Smartphones and children — an opinion prompt with a clear counter-argument.

Browse the full collection of graded samples in the IELTS essay bank, and remember: Band 7 is a set of repeatable habits — extend every idea, use accurate collocations, and keep the majority of your sentences error-free. Once you can see those habits in a real sample, you can reproduce them.