Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-16

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)

food is the basic need of human life, there is no life possible without food. in this modern era, the number of people who like to eats in restaurants is increasing. and there are many pros and cons of this . i will discuss both in the upcoming body paragraphs with example.

there are many points to discuss the pros, the first and the foremost, its quick as compare to coking at home because we do not have to but groceries , do the preparation for cooking, instead people can just go to restaurant and order the food , it can save a lot of time for them. for example, my best friend is working double shifts from last 3 months and it is very hard for him to cook food for himself after doing double shifts everyday. so, he started to order food the nearby store, he finds it very convenient because he can have some rest for the time , he used to spent on cooking.

frozen food can have a very bad effect on human body because its not fresh every time. most of the hotels and food store buy frozen food in bulk and store it in the freezers for a long time and these kind of food items are mostly deep fried which is eventually bad for human health.

overall, eating out have both advantages and disadvantages, its depend on people what they want to do . if they have enough time , they can cook themselves. however, if they don't have time or they work long hours , they can have food out.

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 uneven. While the advantage of time-saving is supported by a personal example, the disadvantage section is underdeveloped and lacks depth, focusing primarily on the health risks of frozen food without exploring other potential drawbacks like cost or social impact. The position is clear, but the overall development of ideas is limited, preventing a higher score. To improve, ensure that both sides of the argument are explored with equal depth and detail.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the structure is somewhat basic. While there is a logical flow, the use of cohesive devices is mechanical and repetitive (e.g., 'the first and the foremost', 'overall'). Paragraphing is present, but the transition between the advantages and disadvantages is abrupt. The referencing is sometimes unclear, and the essay lacks a sophisticated range of linking words to connect ideas smoothly. Improving the variety of cohesive devices and ensuring clearer transitions between sentences would significantly enhance the readability and flow of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks range and precision. The student relies on simple, repetitive language (e.g., 'food', 'cooking', 'bad'). There are some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'hotels' to refer to restaurants, and 'coking' (spelling error). While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of more sophisticated or topic-specific vocabulary limits the score. To reach a higher band, the student should incorporate more precise terminology related to nutrition, lifestyle, and economic factors, and work on improving spelling accuracy.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the reader. Issues include missing articles ('the basic need'), subject-verb agreement ('eating out have'), and punctuation errors (e.g., spaces before commas). The use of complex sentences is often faulty, such as in the opening paragraph where run-on sentences occur. While the meaning is usually understandable, the high frequency of basic grammatical errors prevents a higher score. Focusing on sentence boundary control and basic subject-verb agreement is essential.

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