Task 2 · Band 8 path
Positive or Negative Development
A trend is described. Your job is to judge it — and stay judged.
Recognise the question
How to spot this question type, what the examiner is actually marking, and the traps that cap it at Band 6.
A trend is described. Your job is to judge it — and stay judged.
A frequent Task 2 question, especially on technology, work and social change.
Also called: Is this a positive or negative development? · Good or bad trend essay · Development essay
Spotting it
How this question is worded
Is this a positive or a negative development?
A judgement is required, not a survey. Decide which it is, say so in the introduction, and defend that judgement throughout.
Do you think this is a positive or negative trend?
Identical task. "Do you think" makes the personal judgement explicit.
Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
Plainer wording, same obligation. Avoid answering "both" without a boundary.
Some see this as progress, others as a decline. What is your view?
The two positions are named for you. Take one, or take a defined middle position with an explicit boundary.
The rule that decides Task Response
This is an opinion question wearing different clothes. A judgement — positive, negative, or positive-under-stated-conditions — must appear in the introduction, be defended in both bodies, and be restated in the conclusion.
The standard
What a Band 8 answer to this type does
- A judgement in the introduction: positive, negative, or clearly bounded partial.
- Two developed reasons supporting that judgement — not one paragraph of good points and one of bad.
- Recognition of the opposing consideration, handled as a concession and answered.
- Evaluative language used precisely: "a marked improvement", "a modest gain offset by", "damaging in the long term".
- A conclusion that repeats the same judgement without softening it.
Where the band is lost
The 5 traps in this question type
Each of these is a specific, repeatable way to lose marks on this type — not general writing advice.
Writing an advantages/disadvantages essay insteadTask Response capped at 6
One paragraph of positives and one of negatives with no verdict answers a question that was not asked. This type wants a judgement, and the descriptors treat a missing position as an incomplete response.
The fix
Decide first. Then make both body paragraphs serve the same verdict, using the opposing side only as a concession.
"It is both positive and negative"Task Response 5–6
Almost every trend is both, so saying so answers nothing. Without a boundary the reader cannot identify a position.
The fix
If you genuinely hold a mixed view, define the boundary: positive for whom, negative for whom; positive now, negative later; positive if X, harmful if not.
Judging the topic rather than the developmentTask Response 6
The prompt describes a specific CHANGE. Writing about whether technology in general is good, rather than about the change described, drifts off the question.
The fix
Underline the exact development in the prompt and keep referring back to it. Every paragraph should be about that change, not the subject area around it.
A judgement that weakens as the essay goes onCoherence 6 · Task Response 6
Candidates state a firm view, then hedge in body 2, then conclude with "it depends". The examiner reads a position that dissolved.
The fix
Write your verdict at the top of your plan and check each paragraph against it before writing the conclusion.
Evaluating with only "good" and "bad"Lexical Resource 6
This type is built on evaluation, so a limited evaluative vocabulary is exposed immediately and repeatedly.
The fix
Build a small stock of precise evaluative language — beneficial, damaging, a marked improvement, a modest gain, offset by, at the expense of — and use it accurately rather than decoratively.
Quick reference
The Positive / Negative essay at a glance
This is an opinion question wearing different clothes. A judgement — positive, negative, or positive-under-stated-conditions — must appear in the introduction, be defended in both bodies, and be restated in the conclusion.
A frequent Task 2 question, especially on technology, work and social change.
How to recognise this question
- “Is this a positive or a negative development?”
- A judgement is required, not a survey. Decide which it is, say so in the introduction, and defend that judgement throughout.
- “Do you think this is a positive or negative trend?”
- Identical task. "Do you think" makes the personal judgement explicit.
- “Is this a good thing or a bad thing?”
- Plainer wording, same obligation. Avoid answering "both" without a boundary.
- “Some see this as progress, others as a decline. What is your view?”
- The two positions are named for you. Take one, or take a defined middle position with an explicit boundary.
The four-paragraph structure
Restate the development, then judge it.
Prove the first reason your judgement is correct.
Add a different reason, and answer the strongest objection.
Restate the same judgement in fresh words, with its two grounds.
The traps that cap this type at Band 6
Writing an advantages/disadvantages essay insteadTask Response capped at 6
One paragraph of positives and one of negatives with no verdict answers a question that was not asked. This type wants a judgement, and the descriptors treat a missing position as an incomplete response.
Fix: Decide first. Then make both body paragraphs serve the same verdict, using the opposing side only as a concession.
"It is both positive and negative"Task Response 5–6
Almost every trend is both, so saying so answers nothing. Without a boundary the reader cannot identify a position.
Fix: If you genuinely hold a mixed view, define the boundary: positive for whom, negative for whom; positive now, negative later; positive if X, harmful if not.
Judging the topic rather than the developmentTask Response 6
The prompt describes a specific CHANGE. Writing about whether technology in general is good, rather than about the change described, drifts off the question.
Fix: Underline the exact development in the prompt and keep referring back to it. Every paragraph should be about that change, not the subject area around it.
A judgement that weakens as the essay goes onCoherence 6 · Task Response 6
Candidates state a firm view, then hedge in body 2, then conclude with "it depends". The examiner reads a position that dissolved.
Fix: Write your verdict at the top of your plan and check each paragraph against it before writing the conclusion.
Evaluating with only "good" and "bad"Lexical Resource 6
This type is built on evaluation, so a limited evaluative vocabulary is exposed immediately and repeatedly.
Fix: Build a small stock of precise evaluative language — beneficial, damaging, a marked improvement, a modest gain, offset by, at the expense of — and use it accurately rather than decoratively.
Positive / Negative questions — frequently asked
Is this the same as an advantages and disadvantages essay?
No, and confusing them is the most common way to lose marks here. An advantages/disadvantages question asks for coverage of both sides; this asks for a judgement. Both your body paragraphs should support the verdict, with the opposing view appearing only as a concession you answer.
Can I say a development is both positive and negative?
Only with an explicit boundary — positive for one group and negative for another, or beneficial under one condition and harmful otherwise. "Both positive and negative" with no boundary is treated as having no position.
Should I mention the opposing view at all?
Yes, briefly. One clause at its strongest, then a rebuttal. An essay that never acknowledges the other side rarely reads as a Band 8 argument, but a full paragraph for it turns your essay into the wrong type.
What vocabulary lifts this type of essay?
Precise evaluative language: beneficial, damaging, a marked improvement, a modest gain offset by, at the expense of, in the long term. This type is built on judgement, so a thin evaluative vocabulary is exposed immediately.
Next
Once this type is at Band 8, move to another — Agree / Disagree, Both Views, Advantages — or check a full essay you have written in the Essay Checker
Go deeper on Task 2
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