Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-16

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 consumers can access to food or goods at their local supermarkets or shops which are produced at different corners of world. Many people supports it as positive development, while many consider it as negative development. I strongly agree with the statement.

Firstly people agree argue that this will increase global trade and sharing of resources. By this global exchange every one can use resources across the world by paying for it. For instance America exports ethanol to India, while India provides IT services to America. This will help in fullfiiling the needs of people across the borders. Also encourages new employment oppurtunies for public and available things nearby which is originated at far kilometers away.

Some negatives of this exchange are many people believe that it will make strain over the natural resources. Because they believe people will exploit the nature to fulfill global demands of public. For instance comapnies cut many forests to meet the requirement of paper industry. This is the negative side of this development.

This can be countered by using proper planning and spreading awareness by governments of all countries at world level to reduce the over exploitation of natural resources. Furthermore, this will also increases the dominance of countries rich in natural resources for example oil,minerals and fertile land etc.

In conclusion, although there are few chellenges in global trade but there are numberous advantages of it. So, development should be done in a sustainable way that the development should not be at cost of exploiting natural resources.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You give a clear overall view that international food trade is positive, while acknowledging environmental costs and proposing sustainable management. This addresses the question, and the discussion of resource use and employment is relevant. However, some points are only partly developed or do not directly support the food-focused topic: the ethanol and IT-services example illustrates general trade rather than food imports, and the claim that trade creates employment is not explained. The paragraph on negative effects also shifts to paper production and the dominance of resource-rich countries without showing clearly how these relate to supermarkets selling food from around the world. Develop one or two directly relevant examples, such as year-round access to varied foods or transport-related emissions, and explain their effects.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, a paragraph on drawbacks and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “Firstly,” “For instance,” “Furthermore” and “In conclusion” help signal the direction of the discussion. However, progression is sometimes mechanical, and connections between claims are not always clear. For example, the move from paper companies cutting forests to the dominance of resource-rich countries feels abrupt, while “This can be countered” does not specify which concern it refers to. The opening also presents opposing views before stating your own position, making the stance slightly less direct. Group related points more tightly and use clearer references and transitions to show how each example supports the main argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “global trade,” “resources,” “employment opportunities,” “natural resources” and “over-exploitation.” These choices make the general subject understandable, and some phrases show an effort to use more formal language. However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or awkward, as in “access to food,” “sharing of resources,” “strain over the natural resources” and “at far kilometers away.” Spelling errors such as “fullfiiling,” “oppurtunies,” “comapnies” and “numberous” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more natural combinations and check spelling carefully; for example, describe food as “imported from distant countries” and say that demand “puts pressure on natural resources.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use both simple statements and attempts at longer, more complex sentences, including a contrast introduced by “although” and a conditional idea about sustainable development. The main message is generally recoverable, but errors in agreement, verb forms, articles and sentence construction occur across the response. Examples include “Many people supports,” “Also encourages new employment,” and “this will also increases”; the sentence beginning “Firstly people agree argue” is also difficult to follow because its structure is incomplete. Some clauses are joined without clear grammatical links, as in “development should be done in a sustainable way that the development should not be at cost.” Practise checking subject–verb agreement and building each sentence around a clear subject and verb, while retaining a mix of sentence forms.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.