Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-04

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)

In this modern era people have hectic schedule and they don't have time to prepare food at home. Wethere they rely on restaurants and frozen food rather than make at home. There are many pros and cons of following this trend. I will discuss my view points in my upcoming paragraph according to my knowledge and my experience.

There are many drawbacks of eating restaurants and packed frozen meals. First and foremost is this food is not good for individuals health. It contain much preservatives which will be the reason for many disease. Makers use many chemicals for the freshness so that packed food will useable for many months. For example, nowadays every people have to do a job to fulfill their basic needs, so that they have no time to prepare meal at home and they prefer frozen food which is very convenient and easy to make. Moreover, restaurants use so many spices in their food to make it tasty which is not good for human body. Sometime they are to used fresh material and they provide 2-3 day old food to their customer which caused for food poisioning.

However, there are few benefits of following this trend. Firstly, in this technical era every individual have their own mobile phone. Through this they can order food online from any restaurants. There are so many apps available nowadays such as uber, doordash and many more. Through these apps people can order their food by sitting in their comfortzone and they have no need to go outside to pick their food which is so comfortable for them.

I personally believe that home made food is far better than frozen and hotel food. Easy to prepare meal is very convenient for day to day life but later we have to face many health regarding issues. For example When i moved Canada for my study purpose i do not know how to prepare food and i started ordering food from outside and habitual to make frozen food. But after a month my stomach feel disturbed and i had to go to the doctor and doctor told my the benefit of eating food at home. After that i started to prepare my healthy meal at home. Only occasionally i prefer to order food online and going outside for get togethers.

In conclusion, frozen and restaurant food is much comfortabable but it can not be replaceable with home made food. Preparing meal take little bit time but it is more healtheir than comfortable frozen or hothel food.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both the advantages and disadvantages of relying on convenience food. The position is clear throughout, and the ideas are generally relevant. However, the development is somewhat uneven. The discussion on disadvantages is more detailed than the advantages, which are limited to the convenience of ordering apps. The personal example provided in the fourth paragraph is relevant but could be more tightly linked to the broader argument. To reach a higher band, ensure that both sides of the argument are explored with equal depth and that the conclusion synthesizes the main points more effectively rather than just restating the preference.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'First and foremost', 'Moreover', 'However', and 'In conclusion', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'Wethere they rely on restaurants'. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the internal cohesion within paragraphs sometimes lacks the sophistication required for a higher band, as some sentences feel like a list of points rather than a cohesive argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to express their ideas clearly. There is an attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'preservatives', 'food poisoning', and 'get-togethers'. However, there are frequent errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'hotel food' (when referring to restaurants), 'make at home' (instead of 'cook at home'), and 'health regarding issues'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the precision of the writing. To improve, the student should focus on learning collocations and more precise terminology related to nutrition and lifestyle.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('every people have', 'it contain'), incorrect verb forms ('they are to used fresh material'), and awkward phrasing ('doctor told my the benefit'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with capitalization and sentence boundaries. While the student attempts complex structures, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the response from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article usage would be highly beneficial.

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