Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-15
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
In many countries nowadays, consumers can go to a supermarket and buy food produced all over the world.
Do you think this is a positive or negative development?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
There is no denying fact that the phenomenon of going to market physically for purchasing food products in the entire world is ubiquitous across the globe due to its paramount significance. One school of thought opine that it is worth, however others consider that couple of problems also occurs because of the same. Although this has a plethora of merits yet numerous demerits are also there which will be elaborated in the upcoming paragraphs.
To commence with the best possible benefits, which are responsible for the growth of it. Individuals want to buy fruits, they can see if the fruits are fresh whereas they can inspect everything and roam around other shops to find the best quality. Moreover, most of the people lean towards offline shopping because in this way, they can buy open refreshing food instead of packaging. To cite an example, a number of folks receive packaged food that turns into several health related problems. As a result, for the precaution, people tend towards fresh food products.
On the paradoxical side, there are many drawbacks as well. some people feel anxious in the crowd as we all know for doing shopping, we have to go to the marketplace. However, it is difficult for few people because they have no idea where to go and how to do it. For instance, my cousin never go to supermarket because she find it boring and waste of time instead of it she prefer online shopping. Consequently, it is not possible to rely on offline shopping at present.
In conclusion, without any doubt, this is a mixed bag. If this topic has many merits then demerits of this statement may not be neglected.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses the prompt but suffers from a significant misunderstanding of the topic. The prompt asks about the availability of global food products in supermarkets, whereas the essay focuses on the general benefits and drawbacks of 'physical' versus 'online' shopping. Because the student misinterpreted the core subject—global food distribution—the development of ideas is largely irrelevant to the actual task. While a position is stated, the arguments provided do not support the prompt's specific focus on international food trade. To improve, ensure you carefully analyze the key terms in the prompt before planning your response.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or slightly unnatural, such as 'To commence with the best possible benefits' and 'On the paradoxical side'. While there is a logical progression within the paragraphs, the transition between the introduction and the body paragraphs is somewhat abrupt. The referencing is generally clear, but the overall flow is hindered by the lack of relevance to the actual topic, making the logical development feel disconnected from the prompt's requirements.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice, such as 'There is no denying fact' (missing 'the'), 'open refreshing food', and 'for the precaution'. The student attempts to use some academic vocabulary, but these attempts are often imprecise or used in contexts that do not quite fit. To reach a higher band, focus on learning collocations and using more sophisticated vocabulary that is directly relevant to the topic of global trade and food supply chains.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('one school of thought opine', 'she find it'), missing articles, and awkward sentence construction ('If this topic has many merits then demerits of this statement may not be neglected'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable and affect the overall fluency of the writing. Increasing the accuracy of basic grammar and refining complex sentence structures will be essential for improvement.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.