Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-27

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 5.0)

In todays modern era, supermarkets in various countries are offering food products originated from different parts of the world. From my perspective, although this may have some negative effect, there are positive impro improvement that this can cause.

One negative effect is the chance that people will prefer products from abroad than choosing they're own countries produced. This has negative effect to the economy of the country. For instance, there are many canned goods abroad that are now available in the local supermarket in the Philippines. However, there are also many produced directly from Philippines, But since there is an option now for people to buy imported products, they are leaning towards buying them instead of local produce.

A single country cannot produce everything on its own and usually needs to import some goods from another country. For instance, Philippines does not have much resources to produce enough rice to cover the demand of its population. Therefore, there is a need to import rice from its neighboring countries like Singapore or Malaysia. It will not be easy for a country to just depend on their resources specially when it comes to food.

In conclusion, although there are some negative of having imported food products in local supermarkets , there are more advantages to it as there certain things that may not be available in one country.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the negative economic impact and the positive necessity of food imports. However, the essay is significantly under the 250-word minimum requirement, which limits the depth of the arguments. The position is clear, but the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For example, the mention of rice imports from Singapore or Malaysia is factually questionable and lacks sufficient elaboration to fully support the argument. To improve, you should expand on your points with more detailed explanations and ensure you meet the minimum word count to allow for a more comprehensive exploration of the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. There is a basic attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'However', 'For instance', and 'In conclusion'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the transition between local and imported goods could be smoother. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the overall progression of ideas feels slightly repetitive, particularly in the conclusion, which does not add new insight or effectively synthesise the arguments presented in the body paragraphs.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You rely on basic terms like 'negative effect' and 'good' repeatedly. There are also some minor errors in word choice and form, such as 'impro improvement' (a typo) and 'originated from' instead of 'originating from'. While the meaning is clear, the range of vocabulary is limited, and there is little attempt to use less common or more sophisticated lexical items that would demonstrate a higher level of proficiency. Expanding your vocabulary to include more academic collocations would significantly improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include 'they're own countries produced' (should be 'their own country's produce'), 'there are positive impro improvement' (syntax error), and 'specially when it comes to' (should be 'especially'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage and capitalisation after commas. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct word forms will help improve your accuracy.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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