Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-12

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)

Nowadays people can purchase the food that is produced all over the world by visiting supermarkets or shopping centers. While this development may have some negative effects ,I believe that it is largely a positive trend.

One major advantage of this development is that it provides consumer with greater convenience and wide variety of food choices .Since supermarkets offer products form different parts of the world in one place, people do not need to go to different shops to buy different products as they can buy everything in the supermarkets. This can save both their time and money. For example a costumer can buy clothes, vegetables and makeup products in the same shopping trip.

In addition to this, consumer can enjoy a greater variety of food from different countries .Supermarkets provide products from different cultures allowing people to try new types of food without traveling abroad .This can help consumer become familiar with different cultures and eating habits .For instance, people can easily purchase Japanese, Italian, or Mexican food from a supermarket in their own country.

In conclusion,I believe the availability of food from around the world is positive development because it provides consumer greater convenience which save their time and money and it allow them to experience different types of cultures and food of different country which they can't get in their own country.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses the task by stating a clear position that the global availability of food in supermarkets is a positive development. Relevant ideas are presented, such as convenience, saving time and money, and exposure to different cultures. However, the response suffers from a significant drawback in length, as it contains only 225 words, falling short of the mandatory 250-word minimum. This under-length impacts the full development of ideas, keeping the task achievement score at Band 5.5. To achieve a higher band, the student must ensure they meet the minimum word count and expand further on their supporting arguments with deeper analysis or additional concrete examples.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a clear overall structure with an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, such as convenience and cultural exposure. Cohesive devices are employed, although some transitions like 'In addition to this' and 'In conclusion' are rather formulaic. There are minor issues with referencing and mechanical cohesion, such as repetitive phrasing and occasional awkward links. However, the logical progression is generally maintained throughout the text, allowing the reader to follow the writer's arguments without difficulty, which aligns well with the Band 6.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'convenience', 'variety', and 'familiar'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, but these are sometimes marred by word choice errors and omissions, such as writing 'provides consumer' instead of 'provides consumers' and 'products form' instead of 'products from'. Spelling and word formation are generally clear, though minor slips occur, including 'costumer' instead of 'customer'. The lexical range is minimally sufficient to convey the intended meaning, but lacks the flexibility and precision required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, with attempts at relative clauses ('that is produced all over the world') and conditional elements. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with pluralisation and article use, such as 'consumer with greater convenience' and 'wide variety of food choices' missing articles. Punctuation errors are also present, including spaces before commas (e.g., 'effects ,I believe'). While these errors do not severely impede communication, their frequency prevents the response from reaching Band 6.0, placing it firmly at Band 5.0 due to recurring mistakes in basic grammatical structures.

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

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