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)

In this interconnected world, people can go to the supermarket and buy foods which has been produced all over the world. Although there are some negative impacts of this aspect, I believe its positive development will outweigh its negativity.

The most significant benefit of this is that people can buy anything they want, whereas it was not possible in the past because we could not order goods from foreign sellers. For instance, if people hear about a new kind of product, they would not have to rely on e-commerce. In addition, people could buy fresh overseas products from supermarkets. For example, if consumers order some international products online, they may experience a long waiting period that leads them loosing interests form the product due to the extended waiting period. As a result, sometimes they receive expired goods.

Although supermarkets have some crucial benefits, they also have some disadvantages. People buy unnecessary products from the supermarket because they seem so attractive to consumers. For example, if customers come to buy only one item, their minds are forced to buy more due to the supermarket's greedy marketing strategy. Consequently, customers' expanses are crossed the limit. Moreover, children may attract unneccessory things due to the supermarket that leads to poor money management.

In conclusion, although going to supermarkets has some negative results, including excessive expenses and unnecessary buying, its benefits are more significant than the negative development. People can buy anything when they need it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response attempts to address the prompt by discussing the positive and negative developments of consuming global food in supermarkets. A clear position is stated in the introduction, arguing that the positive developments outweigh the negative ones. However, the development of ideas contains some confusion and tangents, particularly in the second paragraph where the argument shifts confusingly to e-commerce and waiting periods rather than focusing directly on the supermarket produce itself. Furthermore, an important penalty must be applied here because the text contains only 242 words, failing to meet the minimum requirement of 250 words. Because of this under-length penalty and the under-developed supporting ideas, the score is capped.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is divided into four paragraphs, following a standard introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion structure. There is a basic logical progression overall, moving from benefits to drawbacks and concluding with a summary. However, cohesion within the paragraphs is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, transitional phrases like 'For example' and 'In addition' are used, but referencing and logical flow falter in the second body paragraph, where the distinction between supermarkets and online shopping becomes muddled. Paragraphing is present, but overall cohesion is hindered by awkward transitions and repetitive sentence structures.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'interconnected world', 'e-commerce', 'expired goods', and 'marketing strategy'. However, there are notable word choice and spelling errors that detract from precision, such as 'loosing interests form the product' instead of 'losing interest in the product', 'expanses are crossed the limit' instead of 'expenses exceed the limit', and 'unneccessory' (misspelled). These inaccuracies prevent the response from achieving a higher band, though communication of meaning is generally maintained.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing subordinating conjunctions such as 'Although' and 'if'. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'foods which has been produced' (should be 'have been produced'), spelling and lexical confusion like 'children may attract unneccessory things' (should be 'are attracted to'), and awkward phrasings like 'costs are crossed the limit'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the grammar score from reaching a higher band.

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