Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-11-04

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 6.5)

In this contemporary world, an increasing number of individuals depend on food courts and frozen food and packed meals rather than prepared at home food to supply most of their food. there are number of pros and cons of eating this way which will be explained in upcoming paragraphs.

on the one side, there are benefits of eating conveienece food.the first and foremost reason is nowadays individuals are busy in their work they don,t have time to prepare food at home that;s why they prefered to eat restaurants food . for example , in canada students and other people busy in thier study and work so they prefred packaaged meals rather than making at home due to time shortage. moreover, Another benefit is the variety of food available. Restaurants offer different cuisines, allowing people to experience new flavours. Furthermore, frozen and packaged meals have a longer shelf life, making them useful for people who live alone and want to avoid wasting food.

However, there are some significant disadvantages. The main concern is health, as many restaurant meals and processed foods contain excessive amounts of salt, sugar and unhealthy fats. Regular consumption may lead to obesity, heart disease and other health problems. Home-cooked meals, on the other hand, allow people to control ingredients and portion sizes.

Additionally, eating out regularly can be expensive. Buying ingredients from supermarkets and preparing meals at home is generally more economical. Relying on ready-made food may also prevent people from developing essential cooking skills.

In conclusion, although convenience food saves time and provides variety, it can negatively affect health and finances. Therefore, maintaining a balance between eating out and cooking at home is the best approach.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response addresses both advantages and disadvantages and maintains a clear overall position: convenience and variety are beneficial, while health and cost are concerns. The supporting points are relevant, including the example of busy students and workers in Canada, and the explanation that home cooking gives people control over ingredients and portions. The conclusion also draws the discussion together with a practical recommendation to balance eating out with cooking at home. To strengthen the response further, develop some points more specifically: the Canada example is broad and does not show exactly how packaged meals help, while the point about losing cooking skills is introduced but not explained. More precise examples or consequences would make the ideas more fully supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear overall progression: an introduction, a paragraph on advantages, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion. The contrast between the two sides is easy to follow, and signposting such as “However,” “Additionally,” and “In conclusion” helps guide the reader. Within the advantages paragraph, the points move from saving time to variety and shelf life, while the disadvantages are also grouped logically. Some linking is a little mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “Moreover” and “Furthermore,” and the opening phrase “on the one side” is not the most natural way to introduce one side of a comparison. More varied transitions and clearer links between examples and the claims they support would make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for discussing the topic, and the response uses some useful topic-specific expressions, including “longer shelf life,” “excessive amounts of salt, sugar and unhealthy fats,” “portion sizes,” and “essential cooking skills.” These choices help communicate the main ideas clearly. However, there are several spelling and word-choice errors, such as “conveienece,” “prefred,” and “packaaged,” as well as awkward phrases like “prepared at home food” and “restaurants food.” The repeated use of “food” and “people” also limits variety. Aim for accurate collocations and more precise alternatives, such as “home-cooked meals,” “restaurant meals,” and “ready-made food”; careful proofreading would also improve control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response attempts a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including a relative clause in “Restaurants offer different cuisines, allowing people to experience new flavours” and a contrast structure in “Home-cooked meals, on the other hand, allow people to control ingredients and portion sizes.” Most ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “there are number of pros and cons” is missing an article, and “individuals are busy in their work they don,t have time” joins two independent clauses without suitable punctuation or a conjunction. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, as seen at the start of the second sentence and in “that;s why.” Work on sentence boundaries, articles, and accurate punctuation while retaining the more varied structures already attempted.

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