Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-01
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 recent decades, consumers in many countries can visited to a supermarket and purchase food products in every part of the world. Although, this trend have some drawbacks for local producers and the environment, I believe that it is largely a positive development because it gives multiple choice variety and access to a wider categories of food.
On the one hand, one major advantage is that international food market provide consumers with a much broader range of choices in foods. People are no longer limited to products that are grown or manufacture in their own country. To illustrate, supermarket in India may sell Italian pasta, Mexican ingredients , Australian fruits and Japanese sauces. This allows consumers to experience different cuisines and maintain a more varied diet. Furthermore, importing food can be particularly beneficial when certain products cannot be produced locally because of unsuitable climatic conditions. Another positive aspect is that the international trade can benefit to the economy. The demand of imported food creates business opportunities for companies involved in agriculture, transportation, storage and retail. At the same time, developing countries can export their agriculture products to wealthier markets.
On the other hand, this development also has some disadvantages. The transportation of food over long distances can increase carbon emission, contribution to environmental problems. In addition, small local farmers may struggle to compete with large international food companies, particularly when imported products are sold at lower prices. This could gradually reduce the variety of locally produced food and make some communities increasingly dependent on imported goods.
In light of the above, although the global availability of food can create environmental problems and put pressure on local producers, I consider it a predominantly positive development. The greater choice for consumers and the economic opportunities created by international food trade outweigh its disadvantage.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The response addresses all parts of the prompt, providing a clear position that the trend is a positive development. The ideas are relevant and well-supported, particularly the discussion on consumer choice and economic benefits. The counter-arguments regarding environmental impact and local farmers are also clearly articulated. The position is consistent throughout the essay. To reach a higher band, the student could further extend the development of the economic benefits by providing a more specific example of how international trade impacts a particular developing nation, rather than keeping the argument at a general level.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central topic sentence, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Furthermore', and 'In light of the above' are used effectively to link ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the advantages and disadvantages. The flow is generally smooth, though some transitions could be more sophisticated to enhance the overall cohesion of the argument.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, including terms like 'climatic conditions', 'carbon emission', and 'predominantly'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'multiple choice variety' (which is redundant) and 'manufacture' (should be 'manufactured'). However, these errors do not impede communication. To improve, the student should focus on more precise collocations and avoid repetitive phrasing. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning clearly throughout the response.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'can visited to' (should be 'can visit'), 'this trend have' (should be 'this trend has'), and 'contribution to' (should be 'contributing to'). These errors are frequent enough to prevent a higher score but do not significantly impede understanding. The student shows an attempt at complex structures, but greater attention to subject-verb agreement and verb forms is needed to achieve a higher level of accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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