Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-22

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)

Marine advancements are one of the most important developments of this Era and might be taken for granted too. Not a single country left who produces everything on their, every country is taking shoulders in this case.

Majority of a country's economy runs through trade shipments; they play a vital role to run economies. People are dependent on this for their bread and butter. But every advancement comes with a pro and a con, indeed it has made an ease for folks but behind that they face some challenges also.

The positive side of this is that for an end user, this is a very a good option that he/she has access to all food products at a slightly higher price for which they have to go through miles. It saves time and energy to them. The shipment which is delivered by sea is also cheaper than of by air. The increasing number in marine sector is creating jobs in this industry, solving problems and making life easier day by day.

The cons of this include increasing pollution in the water which affects aquatic living beings, long shipments waiting timelines which causes the food not to stay fresh, and the artificial chemicals used in this to make it fresh is causing cancer and severe health diseases.

In my perspective, this is indeed a positive change in overall development, but it is generally making everyone dependent on each other and even a single quarantine can take it all.

Authorities should take proper responsibility and make SOPs on this to avoid health related issues.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you consider worldwide food availability a positive development, while acknowledging drawbacks. You address both sides with relevant points, including convenience, lower shipping costs, employment, pollution, freshness and health concerns. This covers the task, but some ideas are more fully explained than others. For example, you explain how imported food saves consumers time, whereas the claims about chemicals causing serious illness and trade dependence are asserted without examples or explanation. The opening comments about countries trading are also broad and do not directly establish your argument. To strengthen the response, explain the consequences of your main points and support them with a specific example, then make your final judgement more directly connect the benefits and risks you have discussed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, discussion of benefits, a paragraph on drawbacks, and a concluding opinion with a recommendation. This helps the reader follow the main argument. However, progression within and between ideas is sometimes abrupt. The opening moves from marine transport to national economies without clearly linking these points to food availability, and the final paragraph introduces quarantine and government procedures quickly. Connectors such as “But” and “The cons of this include” help signal contrast, but the list of disadvantages would benefit from clearer explanation and grouping. Use topic sentences that state each paragraph’s central point, and add explicit links showing how each example supports your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “trade shipments,” “aquatic living beings,” “artificial chemicals,” and “health-related issues,” so the reader can understand the subject and your main points. There are also attempts at less common expressions, but several choices or collocations sound unnatural or imprecise, such as “taking shoulders,” “go through miles,” and “a good option.” “Marine advancements” is also not the clearest way to describe international food trade. These choices sometimes make the argument less precise, even though its general meaning remains understandable. Aim for natural collocations and precise terms, such as “international shipping,” “travel long distances,” and “access to a wide range of products.” Check idiomatic phrases before using them.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including contrast with “but” and a relative clause in “the shipment which is delivered by sea.” The main message is generally understandable, but grammatical control is uneven, and errors sometimes make sentences awkward or unclear. For example, “Not a single country left who produces everything on their” is missing a complete grammatical structure, while “it has made an ease” and “The increasing number in marine sector is creating jobs” show problems with articles and sentence construction. There are also agreement and clause-structure issues in “long shipments waiting timelines which causes.” Practise building complete sentences with clear subjects and verbs, and check articles, agreement, and punctuation when editing.

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.