Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-18

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 6.5)

In numerous nations these days, buyers can visit a grocery store and buy food manufactured across the globe. I believe that this has a negative impact on the environment as well as on local farmers. In this essay, I shall be discussing its demerits.

Consumers purchasing globally produced food from supermarkets acts as a setback for local farmers. Although, refreshments produced worldwide would provide individuals a huge variety to chose from, it would also create competition for domestic brands. This would decrease the demand for home grown fruits, vegetables and other eatables. The cultivators' crops would sell for a song or go to waste entirely. For instance, in metropolitan cities, most of the agricultural produce in grocery stores is imported from foreign countries and the local farmers have consequently been forced to sell their farms and take up other jobs for their livelihood.

Another downside is that, transporting foods from different countries is harmful for the environment. While it requires trucks for inland translocation of food, ferries and airplanes are needed for intercontinental shipments. All these modes of transport give out poisonous gases like carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide which lead to pollution and deplete the ozone layer. This would only further deplete the fuel reserves and add to the ever-increasing issue of global warming. To exemplify, according to the United Nations Report 2025, 39% of the world carbon emissions are caused due to transporting packed food items across countries.

In summary, buying eatables produced in other countries is not only disadvantageous for local manufacturers, but also the environment. It causes losses to regional farmers and long transportation paths deteriorate the natural world.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have clearly addressed the prompt by taking a negative stance and providing two distinct arguments: the impact on local farmers and environmental concerns. Your position is consistent throughout the essay. The ideas are relevant and supported with examples, such as the mention of metropolitan grocery stores and the reference to a UN report. To reach a higher band, ensure that your arguments are fully developed; for instance, you could briefly explain why local farmers cannot compete on price or quality, rather than just stating that they are forced to sell their farms. Overall, the response is well-focused and directly answers the question.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a summary. You use cohesive devices effectively, such as 'Although', 'For instance', and 'Another downside is that', which help guide the reader through your arguments. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two main points. The progression of ideas is smooth, and each paragraph has a clear topic sentence. To improve further, ensure that the transition between sentences is always natural; occasionally, the flow could be enhanced by using a wider variety of linking words to connect ideas within the same paragraph more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary, using terms like 'demerits', 'cultivators', 'intercontinental shipments', and 'deteriorate'. These choices are generally appropriate and help convey your meaning precisely. There are a few minor issues with collocation, such as 'sell for a song' (which is an idiom that might be slightly informal for an academic essay) and 'eatables' (which is less common than 'foodstuffs' or 'produce'). However, these do not impede communication. To achieve a higher score, continue to incorporate more academic collocations and ensure that your word choices consistently match the formal tone required for Task 2.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. Most of your sentences are clear and grammatically accurate. There are occasional minor errors, such as 'chose from' (should be 'choose') and 'transporting foods... is harmful' (where 'transporting food' would be more natural). Additionally, the phrase '39% of the world carbon emissions are caused due to' could be refined to '39% of global carbon emissions are caused by'. Despite these small slips, your control over grammar is strong, and your meaning is never obscured. You show a good ability to handle complex ideas with varied sentence patterns.

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.