Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-17

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 a days people can easily buy foreign food items while visiting the supermarket, This led to the emergance of new heated debate. Half proportion of population believe it will bring freshness in their tastebuds by eating the food different origins however the other percentage think that it will be hazardeous for their health. From my perspective, this development will increase the consumption of non native foods which will be directly proportional to the health complications.

The primary reason for my point of view is that, foreign food require months for transportation. Longer shipping time could cause the production of alfatoxins which lead to the spoilage of food or food-borne illnesses including diarrhea, ulcer and others. Research has shown that the rate of food-borne diseases due to alfatoxin is increasing in countries that consume imported food products. Eventhough, food prodcuts are packed in great monitoring system, still toxins can enter in food through various routes; air, hand or packaging material.

The secondary concern which make my mind against this development is the inappropriate handling of food during export. Contaminated gloves and unwashed containeers have been used while handling and shippping, which ulimately increase the medical risk. If the vulnerable persons eat this contaminated foreign food, it will lead to the serious medical complication. Moreover, Foreign foods can also be used as a source of spreading bioterrorism, which can exert intense healthcare and economic burden to a country.

To conclude, I strongly believe that easy access to foreign food and its consumption can adversly impact the health of its consumers while it can also be a source of serious socio-economical issues such as bioterrorism. So for that reasons, supermarket should not provide the foregin food to natives.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear negative position on the availability of global food in supermarkets. The writer presents relevant main ideas centred around health risks, transportation issues, and food contamination. However, the development of these ideas relies heavily on specific, somewhat far-fetched hypotheses—such as linking food transport directly to bioterrorism and severe medical complications—which detracts from a balanced academic exploration of the topic. While all parts of the task are addressed, the over-reliance on extreme scenarios and a lack of broader socio-economic or environmental considerations places the response in the Band 6 territory.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is divided into an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion, showing an overall logical arrangement. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct points of argument. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as "The primary reason" and "To conclude," but referencing and logical flow are occasionally faulty or mechanical, as seen in the slightly disjointed transitions between sentences in the second body paragraph. Additionally, repetitive phrasing and punctuation errors create some bumps in readability, aligning the coherence and cohesion with Band 6 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common and topic-specific items such as "emergance," "alfatoxins," "bioterrorism," and "socio-economical." However, there are notable spelling errors (e.g., "Now a days," "emergance," "hazardeous," "alfatoxins," "containeers," "ulimately," "adversly") and occasional word choice inaccuracies. These lexical slips and spelling errors do not impede communication overall, but they prevent the response from achieving a higher band score, making Band 6 an accurate reflection of lexical control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some ambition with structures like "If the vulnerable persons eat this contaminated foreign food, it will lead to the serious medical complication." However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement (e.g., "foreign food require," "product are," "supermarket should not provide the foregin food"), article usage, and punctuation, particularly comma splices and incorrect comma placement in the opening sentences. While these errors rarely completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to preclude a Band 7.

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