Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-22

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 buy food from many different countries in supermarkets. I believe this is a positive development because it gives consumers more choices and allows them to experience different cultures.

One major advantage is that people have access to a wide variety of food throughout the year. In the past, consumers mainly depended on local products and seasonal foods. However, today they can easily buy fruits, vegetables and other products from different parts of the world. For example, people in Pakistan can buy Australian apples, Turkish dates or Italian pasta in some large supermarkets. This provides more choice and convenience.

Another benefit is that international food allows people to learn about other cultures. Trying food from different countries can help people understand their traditions and lifestyles. It can also be useful for people who have travelled abroad or come from different cultural backgrounds.

In conclusion, although transporting food internationally may have some environmental costs, I believe the availability of food from around the world is generally a positive development because it provides greater choice, convenience and cultural experience.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student addresses the prompt by clearly stating a position that the availability of global food in supermarkets is a positive development. Relevant ideas are presented, such as year-round access to diverse products and the cultural educational benefits of international cuisine. However, the ideas are relatively brief and underdeveloped due to the overall brevity of the essay. Furthermore, the response has a significant negative impact on Task Achievement because it fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, standing at only 179 words. Consequently, the task response is incomplete in its development, limiting the score to a 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay presents a clear overall arrangement with an introduction, two body paragraphs focusing on distinct advantages, and a concise conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader through the text, such as "One major advantage," "Another benefit," and "In conclusion." Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. However, the referencing and transitions are somewhat basic and mechanical. Despite the short length, the logical progression is easy to follow, supporting a solid score of 6.5 for coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully incorporating terms like "consumers," "convenience," "traditions," and "international food." There are attempts at less common phrasing such as "depended on local products" and "transporting food internationally." However, the vocabulary is largely standard and repetitive, lacking the sophisticated or less common lexical items characteristic of higher bands. Spelling and word choice are accurate throughout, meaning communication is never impeded. This matches the descriptors for Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writing displays a satisfactory mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as "In the past, consumers mainly depended on local products and seasonal foods" and "although transporting food internationally may have some environmental costs, I believe..." Grammatical control is generally quite good, with accurate use of tense and clause structures, and the majority of sentences are error-free. Punctuation is also handled correctly. Because of the good level of accuracy despite the limited range of complex structures, this warrants a band score of 6.5.

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