Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-07

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)

Now in this advanced world, many customers of different nations can easily go and purchase food from the whole world from the grocery stores that are produced and manufactured in distinct countries. From my perspective, I do agree that people can share food across the borders, however, I also believe that this can lead to other problems.

On the one hand, there are multiple benefits of having food from different cultures and countries. The main is that the general populace can have an easy access to different tastes that people across the borders enjoy. Every country has its own traditional food and the public of different nation tasting their traditional foods can bring a strong sense of belonging which can create unity among all the humanities as they share the foods that belong to them. This can also help the consumers to buy and taste foods or vegetables or fruits that might not be grown, produced and manufactured in ones own country.

On the other hand, all the food that is imported from different countries can cost an arm and a leg and the reason for this are heavy import duties and taxes, which eventually increases the prices of not only food but every thing. This means it can be difficult for the working class to taste food that is imported as it is expensive, hence, it creates class differences.

In conclusion, i would like to propose that the advantages of consumers buying food from different countries from their own supermarket outweighs the the disadvantages of this. Which means unity among the humanity through food is more crucial than anything.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the availability of global food and taking a clear position. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention 'unity' and 'class differences,' these points are not fully explored with concrete examples or deeper analysis. The conclusion contradicts the body paragraphs; you argue that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, but your second body paragraph focuses entirely on the negative economic impact without providing a counter-argument or a synthesis that justifies your final stance. To improve, ensure that your supporting arguments directly reinforce your thesis throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand.' However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical. For instance, the transition in the final paragraph is abrupt, and the use of 'Which means' at the start of a sentence is grammatically informal and creates a disjointed feel. Referencing is generally clear, but the logical progression within paragraphs could be smoother to better connect the ideas of 'unity' and 'economic cost' to your overall argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using phrases like 'general populace' and 'import duties.' However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and awkward collocations, such as 'all the humanities' (which is not the correct term for 'humanity' or 'mankind') and 'cost an arm and a leg' (which is an idiom that is generally too informal for an Academic Task 2 essay). Additionally, the repetition of 'produced and manufactured' weakens the lexical variety. Focus on using more precise, academic vocabulary to convey your points.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'the public of different nation' (should be 'nations'), 'ones own country' (missing apostrophe), and 'the the disadvantages' (repetition). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they are frequent enough to indicate a lack of control over complex structures. To reach a higher band, focus on subject-verb agreement, correct article usage, and proofreading for minor slips.

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