Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-03

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 5.5)

We live in a society where everyone has busy schedules. Nobody has time to take care of his/her health. People are not interested in exercising. They don’t care about what they are eating is healthy or unhealthy. Not only adults even children today are very keen to have junk food and parents to get rid of mess they give them whatever they ask without even thinking of what their children are eating is good for them or not.

In today’s lifestyle where everyone is busy they think that restaurant food is an escape. Furthermore, where father and mother both are working to give a good livelihood to their kids they think it is less time consuming to have food from restaurants or frozen foods. Because such food is just a tap away.

Unfortunately, maintaining a good life style forgets us what we are giving to our body. Because our body nourishes on what we feed us with. When you cook food at home you buy the groceries yourself, you are satisfied with the hygiene and quality of the food. You know about each and every ingredient you have put in it. Instead in restaurant food we do not know how they prepare the food, what ingredients the have used, have they maintained the hygiene or not. In contrast to this, the frozen and preserved food is full of preservative which may cause health issues in long term.

In my personal opinion, I prefer home cooked food is better than frozen food or restaurant food, because these foods may give you convenience but not health. Even today schools teach the students about healthy and unhealthy food then why should not we be the ones who taught our children about healthy eating habits that help them in long run.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both the advantages and disadvantages of relying on convenience food. However, the development is somewhat uneven. While you mention the convenience of restaurant food as an advantage, the discussion on disadvantages is more detailed, focusing on health and hygiene. The position is clear, but the argument could be strengthened by providing more specific examples of the 'advantages' beyond just time-saving. The essay tends to over-generalize about societal habits, which limits the depth of the analysis. To reach a higher band, ensure that both sides of the prompt are explored with equal depth and specific, illustrative examples.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the flow of ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and occasionally repetitive. For instance, the transition 'In contrast to this' is used, but other linking words are quite basic. The progression of ideas within paragraphs is generally logical, but the connection between the introduction and the body paragraphs could be smoother. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the phrase 'maintaining a good life style forgets us', which makes the logical flow slightly awkward. Improving the variety of linking phrases would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. You use common phrases like 'busy schedules' and 'junk food' effectively, but there is a lack of more sophisticated or academic vocabulary. There are also some word-choice errors, such as 'maintaining a good life style forgets us' (which should be 'makes us forget') and 'nourishes on' (which should be 'is nourished by'). While the meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is limited, and the errors in collocation occasionally draw attention to the language rather than the ideas.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow, such as 'parents to get rid of mess they give them whatever they ask' and 'why should not we be the ones who taught our children'. These errors in subject-verb agreement and tense usage are noticeable. While you attempt complex sentences, they are often faulty. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and ensuring that your verb tenses and word order are consistent throughout the essay.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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