Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-05

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 recent years, many nations' consumers can go to a supermarket and buy food that is produced all over the world. From my perspective, it is a positive development because inhabitants can try various foods without travelling.

One major advantage is that people have more variety of food to choose from. Supermarkets often sell fruits, vegetables, snacks, and other imported products from other countries. Now, they have the opportunity to try food from every country. This development brings numerous food choices. For instance, someone in Pakistan can order pasta from Italy or buy chocolates from Switzerland. This advancement can fulfill the food wishes of the general public without travelling to other countries.

Another significant factor is that every country can produce natural food in its country, due to the different weather. Consequently, they can not grow every fruit or vegetable. Nevertheless, there is a way to import that product into their country and fulfill their needs through it.

However, there are some disadvantages, such as the imported product containing some chemicals to preserve the product's taste and quality. It takes a few days to transport the food, the longer distances can produce carbon emissions.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the task only partially, as it is significantly under the minimum word count requirement, falling short by 65 words (excluding 9 words copied directly from the prompt). The writer takes a clear position that global food availability is a positive development, but the ideas remain limited and under-developed. For instance, the point regarding different weather and natural food production in paragraph three is confusingly expressed ('every country can produce natural food in its country, due to the different weather. Consequently, they can not grow every fruit or vegetable'), demonstrating a lack of clear extension and support. To reach a higher level, the writer needs to fully develop their main ideas with more substantial explanations and examples, while ensuring the text meets the required length.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some basic organisation with distinct paragraphs, including an introduction, two body paragraphs discussing advantages, and a brief concluding paragraph touching on disadvantages. However, there is no clear overall progression across the text, and the relationships between ideas are sometimes mechanical or abrupt, such as the sudden transition to disadvantages in the final paragraph ('However, there are some disadvantages...'). Cohesive devices are used in a basic manner, such as 'One major advantage' and 'Another significant factor', but referencing and logical flow between sentences are occasionally weak. To improve, the writer should ensure that every paragraph flows smoothly into the next, using a wider and more natural variety of cohesive links to build a more cohesive argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to convey basic ideas related to supermarkets, food, and international trade. The student attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'inhabitants', 'imported products', and 'carbon emissions', but noticeable errors in word choice and expression occur, such as 'fulfill the food wishes' and saying that countries 'produce natural food... due to the different weather. Consequently, they can not grow every fruit or vegetable'. These lexical lapses sometimes cause slight confusion for the reader. To achieve a higher band, the writer must expand their lexical range and demonstrate more precise word choice and natural collocation when discussing global trade and environmental impacts.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The text displays a limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences alongside a few basic complex forms. Attempts at more complex structures are often accompanied by errors, such as 'many nations' consumers can go' and 'the longer distances can produce carbon emissions', where the punctuation and clause structure are slightly awkward. There are frequent grammatical errors regarding prepositions, articles, and clause connections that cause some difficulty for the reader, such as 'produce natural food in its country, due to the different weather'. To progress, the student needs to incorporate a wider variety of complex grammatical structures with increased accuracy, paying closer attention to verb tenses, article usage, and clause linkage.

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