Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-08
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 4.5)
A growing number of people rely on restaurants and convenience food rather than home cooked food to supply most of their meals because this generation is very lazy and do not like to do work they only want to rest so they easily go to the restaurants and order their meal and enjoy it . rather in 20s the people were very active and do their work very happily but now the generation is very lazy instead of 20s generation.
(advantages)
There are many advantages and as well some disadvantages but the most important advantage of packaged meals and frozen food is half cooked from the companies and it take less time to cook that is why some people use frozen food instead of home cooked .
(Disadvantages)
As there are advantages so there are disadvantages as well the disadvantages have an big effect on our health if frozen food is used more rather than home cooked meal
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, reaching only 158 words. Consequently, the development of ideas is severely limited. While the prompt asks for advantages and disadvantages, the response provides only a cursory mention of one advantage (time-saving) and one disadvantage (health impact). The ideas are not extended or supported with relevant examples, and the essay lacks a clear structure or conclusion. The content is overly simplistic and relies on generalizations about 'lazy' generations rather than addressing the topic of convenience food in a balanced, analytical manner. To improve, you must expand each point with specific examples and ensure all parts of the prompt are addressed in detail.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0
The essay lacks a logical structure. The use of headings like '(advantages)' and '(Disadvantages)' is inappropriate for an IELTS essay and indicates a lack of paragraphing skills. There is no clear introduction or conclusion, and the progression of ideas is disjointed. Cohesive devices are almost entirely absent, making the text feel like a collection of isolated sentences rather than a cohesive argument. The referencing is unclear, and the flow between the initial generalization and the specific points is abrupt. To improve, you should use formal paragraphing and transition words such as 'furthermore', 'consequently', or 'on the other hand' to link your ideas logically.
Lexical Resource — Band 4.5
The vocabulary is very basic and repetitive. Phrases such as 'very lazy', 'do their work', and 'enjoy it' are used in a simplistic manner. There is a lack of topic-specific vocabulary related to nutrition, lifestyle, or the food industry. The word choice is often imprecise, such as 'half cooked from the companies', which does not accurately convey the concept of processed or pre-packaged meals. To reach a higher band, you need to incorporate a wider range of vocabulary, including collocations and less common lexical items related to the topic, and avoid repeating simple adjectives like 'lazy' or 'big'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5
The grammar is characterized by frequent errors that occasionally impede communication. There are significant issues with sentence structure, such as run-on sentences and a lack of proper punctuation. For example, 'rather in 20s the people were very active and do their work very happily but now the generation is very lazy instead of 20s generation' is grammatically incoherent. Subject-verb agreement is inconsistent, and there is a lack of complex sentence structures. The writing relies heavily on simple, repetitive sentence patterns. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, using correct verb tenses, and incorporating a variety of complex structures like relative clauses or conditional sentences.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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