Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-26

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)

to begin with, it is true that a lot of people nowadays eat restaurant food or frozen food to save time, well this is good for some time or occasionally but if its a regular habit than it can effect our health.

i understand that people work most of the time and dont have time to cook food thats why they are dependent on restaurants or frozen food but it has its disadvantages over advantages.

firstly, restaurant food is expensive, you pay a lot of money and sometimes the quality and quantity is not as good as home cooked meals and is often compromised and frozen food or instant cooking packed foods are even worst.

In addition to, depending on thus food habits can make people lazy and people can lose thier cooking habits , which is not good for long term.

Also when people cook at home it is a different feeling, the taste , the freshness, it is good for health and can save you a lot of money.

However, it is okay sometimes to eat from outside or prepare quick frozen food if you are tire from work or you dont have time to cook but we should not make it a habit as it affects our health a lot.

eating frozen meat like frozen burgers or nuggets for long period can increase the risk of having cancer in later life.

in conclusion , I would like to say that peple should adapt a habit of cooking at home as it is good for our well being.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both the advantages and disadvantages of relying on convenience food, though the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. You mention cost and health as primary concerns, which is relevant, but the arguments lack depth and specific examples. For instance, while you mention health risks like cancer, the explanation is brief. To improve, you should expand on your points by providing more detailed reasoning or real-world scenarios. The position is clear throughout, but the overall structure feels more like a list of points rather than a well-developed argument. Ensuring each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and supporting evidence would help you reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which is a positive step. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or missing. Phrases like 'In addition to' are used incorrectly, and there is a lack of sophisticated linking words to connect ideas smoothly between sentences. The progression of ideas is sometimes disjointed, particularly in the transition between the disadvantages of restaurant food and the benefits of home cooking. Improving the variety of your linking words (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'on the other hand') and ensuring they are used grammatically will significantly enhance the flow of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but remains quite basic. You rely on simple terms like 'good', 'bad', and 'a lot of'. There are also some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'worst' instead of 'worse' and 'adapt a habit' instead of 'adopt a habit'. To achieve a higher band, you should aim to use more precise and academic vocabulary. Instead of repeating 'good' or 'bad', try to use more descriptive adjectives that reflect the specific context of the argument. Expanding your range of topic-specific vocabulary related to nutrition and lifestyle would also be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains frequent grammatical errors, including issues with subject-verb agreement ('it can effect our health' should be 'affect'), punctuation (missing spaces after commas), and sentence structure (run-on sentences). You rely heavily on simple sentence structures, and attempts at more complex sentences often contain errors, such as 'if its a regular habit than it can effect'. To improve, focus on mastering basic punctuation, such as using periods to separate independent clauses rather than relying on commas. Additionally, practice using a wider variety of complex sentence structures, ensuring that you check for subject-verb agreement and correct verb forms.

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