Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-22

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 6.0)

An increasing number of people depend on takeaway meals and easy to make food instead of food prepared at home. This is very common in our society today.

There are a lot of advantages of eating out rather than preparing home cooked meals, one of which is that, it is easier and faster, an individual can easily walk into any restaurants to order for food at any point in time. for example, a banker that works tirelessly and barely has enough time to cook and also has children to take care of, has no help can easily walk into any restaurants to buy varieties of food to take home after work to his family.

Another advantage of eating out is the exotic packaging. A lot of restaurants today package their food in a very attractive way that will entice individuals who patronize them and even include gifts to appreciate their loyal customers. for example,a well packaged meal with an attractive label, nylons and gifts attached to the order can encourage people to keep buying from the restaurants.

On the other hand, there are equally disadvantages of eating out and buying takeaway meals. One of which is, the use of excessive spices or condiments like maggi, special spices, curry and thyme in the preparation of the food. for example an individual might be allergic to ginger or garlic which was used to prepare the meal, a person has no control over the amount of ingredients used which in turn can be harmful to the body.

Another disadvantage is the environment where the food was prepared. for example the food might be prepared in a messy or unclean enviroment, this can be dangerous to the health of an individual and can cause sicknesses like cholera, diarrhoea and all sort.

In Conclusion, in as much as eating out is easier, faster and convinient, it can also pose a threat to the health and well being on an individual, so i advise that everything is done in moderation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the question and give a clear concluding view: convenience is valuable, but eating this way can threaten health. The examples about a busy banker and possible food contamination make the discussion relevant. However, some points are not fully developed or closely tied to the main issue. The paragraph on “exotic packaging” explains how presentation and gifts attract customers, but does not clearly show why this is an advantage of relying on restaurant or convenience meals. The health risks are more directly relevant, though the discussion could explain how these risks compare with home cooking or affect people who eat prepared food regularly. Develop each point with a clearer consequence and keep examples focused on the question.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. The progression from convenience to packaging and then to health risks is easy to follow, and signposts such as “On the other hand” and “In Conclusion” help guide the reader. This meets the lower-band expectations and shows some features of stronger organisation. However, linking is sometimes mechanical, with repeated “Another advantage/disadvantage” and “for example,” while several long sentences join multiple ideas without clear punctuation. The banker example, for instance, contains several details in one sentence. Use a wider range of transitions and divide complex examples into clearer sentences; also make references such as “this” explicit where needed.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to discuss the topic, including “takeaway meals,” “condiments,” “allergic,” and “unclean environment.” Some topic-specific choices help communicate the health concerns clearly. However, the range is limited by repeated general words such as “food,” “individual,” and “advantage,” and several expressions are imprecise or unnatural. “Exotic packaging” does not accurately describe attractive presentation, while “all sort” is an incomplete expression and “convenient” is misspelled as “convinient.” There are also spelling and word-choice slips such as “enviroment” and “well being on an individual.” Aim for more precise collocations and vary repeated vocabulary, while checking spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses with “which” and examples introduced by “for example.” The main ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical and punctuation errors recur. For instance, “one of which is that, it is easier and faster” has unnecessary punctuation and an awkward clause structure; “a person has no control over the amount of ingredients used which in turn can be harmful” needs clearer clause boundaries. Capitalisation after full stops is inconsistent, and the final sentence shifts into “I advise” without a clearly controlled structure. Practise forming accurate complex sentences, especially with subordinate clauses, and use full stops and commas to separate complete ideas. Proofreading for sentence boundaries and agreement will improve control.

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