Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-07-28

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

A growing number of people rely on restaurants and convenience food (frozen food and packaged meals) rather than home-cooked food to supply most of their meals.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of eating this way?

Give reasons for your answer, and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Nowadays majority of people depend upon the restaurants and convenience food, instead of home-cooked food to supply most of their meals. This essay will discuss both merits and demerits in the upcoming paragraphs.

On the one side, individuals do not have time, mostly due to the sedentary lifestyle or they do not want to cook. For this, they prefer either go to a restaurant or eat frozen food. For instance, a person coming from work is already tired and do not have the energy to make a meal at home. Moreover, most of the working class lives alone in the society. They do not have the knowledge to prepare their food. For example, freshers in the work industry were newly separated from their families and are unaware of cooking techniques.

On the other side, the most important disadvantage of eating packaged food is the health issues they cause. Making a habit of taking frozen meal will weaken the immune system and indirectly welcomes the diseases to enter the body. Such as eating fast food regularly will give you respiratory issues. The person will get tired easily by doing small amount of work. Another reason is the mismanagement of money. A chunk of the income directly goes to the food section whether its a dining out or take away. The cost of the food in the restaurants will always comes with a hidden charges that includes the pay of the workers, the ambience of the place, and mainly the rent of the place.

In conclusion, there should be balanced between the home cooked meal and with the outside food. Depending upon the situation, if it is urgent and not having enough time then order from outside or make frozen food otherwise prefer home made food.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both the advantages and disadvantages of relying on convenience food. The ideas are relevant, such as time constraints and health concerns. However, the development of these points is somewhat limited. For example, the argument regarding 'freshers' lacking cooking knowledge is a bit anecdotal and could be expanded to discuss broader societal shifts. The conclusion is brief but provides a clear summary of your position. To reach a higher band, ensure that each point is supported by more detailed explanations or specific, well-integrated examples, rather than just stating the point and moving on to the next.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, with an introduction, body paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. You use basic cohesive devices like 'On the one side', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion' to guide the reader. However, the flow between sentences can sometimes feel a bit mechanical. The referencing is generally clear, but some transitions between ideas within paragraphs could be smoother. To improve, try using a wider variety of linking words and ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence that directly relates to the prompt.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'sedentary lifestyle', 'immune system', and 'mismanagement'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'welcomes the diseases to enter the body' and 'food section', which sound slightly unnatural. While you attempt to use some less common vocabulary, the overall range is somewhat limited. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and academic phrasing. Avoid overly informal expressions and try to incorporate more sophisticated synonyms to enhance the clarity and impact of your arguments.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('a person... do not have', 'the cost... always comes') and article usage errors ('a balanced', 'the society'). These errors occur frequently but do not impede communication. To achieve a higher band, you should aim for more error-free sentences and work on mastering complex structures like conditionals or passive voice. Proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article consistency will significantly improve your score.

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