Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

These days , numerous regions customers can buy food from various nations when they go to a supermarket. From my prospective this is a positive trend and there are some disadvanteges also . Which i will discuss in the upcoming paragraphs .

In the first place , candidates who are studying in the foreign country can buy traditional foods , which are paramount for their healthy lifestyle . Consequently , they can concenterate on their study and work , therefore that they can achieve high marks on their exams . Moreover , the availbility of international food products allows shoppers to access a diverse range of items that are nor grown locally . In the past individuals were restricted to consuming seasonal locally grown produce which made their diets quite limited , however in the present , supermarkets provides exotic fruits , vegetables and spices from different nations

One the other hand importing food from distant places has clear drawbacks . The long distance transportation of goods consume a massive amount of fuel and increases carbon emissions which harms the environment . Furthermore , heavy relince on foreign imports can put local farmers at a disadvantege if cheap imported foods floods the market domestic producers may struggle to compete , which can hurt local agriculture over time .

In conclusion , buying food from around the globe has both benefits and also drawbacks . However the advantage of having a diverse diet and supporting global economic connections the environmental and local challenges.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the positive and negative aspects of having globally sourced food in supermarkets, thus presenting a clear position. However, some ideas are slightly underdeveloped or tangential, such as the specific focus on students in foreign countries needing traditional foods to achieve high marks on exams. While the writer outlines the main benefits and drawbacks like environmental impacts and local agricultural competition, the development could be more focused and thoroughly extended to reach higher band levels. Overall, all parts of the prompt are touched upon, earning a solid Band 6.0 according to the task response descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is divided into a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, showing an overall logical arrangement of ideas. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'In the first place', 'Moreover', and 'On the other hand', although some referencing and punctuation around links are faulty (e.g., spacing issues before commas and periods). Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the positive and negative arguments. However, the conclusion is somewhat abrupt and ungrammatical ('supports the environmental and local challenges' seems missing a verb phrase). These issues place the essay comfortably at a Band 6.0 for coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common items such as 'paramount', 'exotic', 'carbon emissions', and 'agriculture'. However, there are several noticeable spelling errors ('prospective' instead of 'perspective', 'disadvanteges', 'concenterate', 'availbility', 'relince', 'disadvantege') and word-choice inaccuracies. These errors do not impede communication since the reader can still understand the intended meaning, but they prevent the writing from achieving a higher score. This lexical profile aligns well with the Band 6.0 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and conditional-like structures. There are, however, frequent grammatical and punctuation errors throughout the text, such as missing words, incorrect verb forms ('consume' instead of 'consumes'), and poor punctuation spacing (e.g., spaces before commas). Despite these errors, the meaning is generally clear and they rarely impede overall communication. The presence of both error-free sentences and noticeable grammatical slips warrants a Band 6.0 score.

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