Task 2 · Positive or negative development · Consumer
Paying monthly instead of owning
A positive-or-negative essay on the subscription economy, where the band 9 answer separates paying for a service from paying rent on something already bought.
The question
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.
Increasingly, people pay a monthly subscription to use products such as software, cars, furniture and even clothing, instead of buying them outright. Do you think this is a positive or a negative development?
A 250-word discursive essay — the half of the paper that carries two thirds of the marks. This prompt is original, written in the standard format for teaching purposes — it is not taken from any past paper.
What separates the three answers
The 6.5 says subscriptions cost more in the end; the 7.5 separates products that need ongoing support from those that do not but still gives a blanket verdict; the 9 makes that separation the verdict, and supplies a test for telling a service from rent charged on something already paid for.
The three answers
Band 6.5
265 words (the task asks for at least 250)The answer works. It addresses the task, the reader follows it, and the meaning survives — but ideas stay general, linking is mechanical, wording repeats, and small errors are visible throughout.
The answer
In these days, many companies are selling their products by subscription, for example the software, the cars and even the clothes. The customer pays every month and he can use the product, but he is not the owner. Some people think this is a good trend, but I think it is mostly a negative development.
Of course, there are some benefits of subscription. The first one is that people do not need to pay a big amount of money at one time. For example, a new car is very expensive, but if you pay monthly, even the young people can drive a new car. This is especially useful for the students and for people who have just started working. Also, the company will repair the product if it is broken, so the customer does not need to worry about it.
However, I believe the disadvantages are more important.2 Firstly, in the long term the customer pays much more money than buying1. If a person uses a software for ten years3, the total cost of the subscription will be very high. Secondly, many people forget about their subscriptions and they continue paying for the things which they are not using anymore. Companies know this and they make the cancellation very difficult. Thirdly, when the customer stop paying, he loses everything, and he have nothing at the end4.
In conclusion, although subscription is convenient and it is easy to pay, I think it is a negative development because people pay more money and they do not own anything. People should think carefully before they choose the subscription.5
What an examiner notices
1. Task response
“in the long term the customer pays much more money than buying”
The central claim of the essay, asserted rather than shown. It is never set against the free repairs mentioned a paragraph earlier, which are part of what the higher cost buys.
2. Coherence and cohesion
“However, I believe the disadvantages are more important.”
The verdict is announced before it is argued. The paragraph that follows lists three points without showing why they outweigh the benefits.
3. Lexical resource
“If a person uses a software for ten years”
'Software' is uncountable, so it cannot take 'a'. 'A program' or simply 'software' is needed — an error of word knowledge rather than of grammar.
4. Grammatical range and accuracy
“when the customer stop paying, he loses everything, and he have nothing at the end”
Two agreement errors around a correct 'he loses', which shows the rule is known but not yet automatic. 'In the end' is also the expression meant.
5. Task response
“People should think carefully before they choose the subscription.”
The question asks for a judgement on a trend in society. Ending with advice to individual shoppers moves the essay away from the question it was answering.
One honest caveat
Band labels here describe what each piece of writing demonstrates against the four published assessment areas, paraphrased in plain language. They are teaching illustrations produced for this site, not official material, and no sample has been marked by a test provider. Real scripts are marked whole; two answers with the same label can still look quite different from each other, and nothing on this page can promise anyone a particular result.
Compare another question
- Task 2 · Positive or negative development
A few streaming companies choosing what gets made
A positive-or-negative essay on commissioning power, where the band 9 answer separates how much gets made from how many people decide what gets made.
- Task 2 · Positive or negative development
Cash disappearing in favour of digital payment
A positive-or-negative essay on the cashless economy, where the band 9 answer shows why a change can be positive on average and still be bad policy.
- Task 2 · Positive or negative development
Choosing holidays from social media photos
A positive-or-negative essay on travel chosen from social media, where the band 9 answer argues that the real loss is not the crowds but the surprise.