Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Nowadays , many people prefer eating restaurant foods and convenience meals, such as frozen food and packaged meals, instead of home made food .This trend has both advantages and disadvantages, which i will discuss in this essay.

However, eating restaurant and convienience food has several benefits. The main advantage is that it saves time and effort. Many people have busy schedules because of their jobs, studies, and family responsibilities. Therefore, they may not have enough time to prepare meals at home. For example, working parents can buy ready-made meals from supermarkets and serve them to their families quickly. Another benifit is that people can enjoy different types of food without spending hours cooking.

Apart from this, relying on these foods can have nagetive effects on people's health and finances. Such as , restaurant meals and packaged foods often contain high amounts of salt, sugar and unhealthy fats. Eating them regularly may increase the risk of health problems. In addition, buying meals from restaurants can be more expensive than preparing food at home. For example, a family that orders takeaway several times a week may spend more money than a family that cooks its meal using ingredients from a supermarket.

In conclusion, although restaurant and covenience food is useful for people who have busy lifestayles, it can be expensive and may negatively affect their health if consumed too frequently . In my opinion, people should try to cook at home whenever possible and use ready-made meals only when necessary.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both sides of the question and give a clear overall view: convenience foods save time and offer variety, while health and cost are drawbacks. The examples of working parents buying ready-made meals and families ordering takeaway help make the points relevant. Your conclusion also gives a consistent recommendation. However, some ideas are only briefly developed: the benefit of enjoying different foods is stated without an example or explanation, and the health point could explain more specifically how frequent consumption affects people. The response is also two words below the required minimum. Adding a little development to one or two points would help make the discussion more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear four-paragraph structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. The progression is easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “Therefore,” “In addition,” and “In conclusion” generally guide the reader effectively. The contrast between benefits and drawbacks is also clear. To make the organisation more polished, avoid using “However” to begin the advantages paragraph, since it suggests a contrast that has not yet been established. “Such as” is also awkward as a sentence opener in “Such as, restaurant meals…”; connect this example directly to the preceding claim instead. More precise transitions and smoother links between claims and examples would strengthen the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “ready-made meals,” “busy schedules,” “unhealthy fats,” and “risk of health problems.” These choices communicate the main ideas clearly, and you attempt relevant topic-specific language. However, several spelling errors—“convienience,” “benifit,” “nagetive,” “covenience,” and “lifestayles”—reduce accuracy. Some expressions are also imprecise or repetitive, such as “restaurant foods” and “different types of food.” Aim for more natural collocations and check spelling carefully. For instance, “restaurant meals” and “a wider variety of cuisines” would express these ideas more precisely and help demonstrate greater flexibility in vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, and several sentences are controlled well, including “Many people have busy schedules because of their jobs, studies, and family responsibilities” and the conditional example about a family ordering takeaway. The meaning remains clear throughout. Some grammatical and punctuation errors persist, however. In the opening, spacing around punctuation is inconsistent, and “home made food .This” needs correct spacing and punctuation. The phrase “a family that cooks its meal” has a number mismatch in meaning; “cooks its meals” would be more appropriate. Also, “restaurant and convenience food is” would read more naturally with a plural subject and verb, or a singular construction such as “this type of food is.” Greater accuracy in these details would improve control.

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