Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-04

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some consumers are increasingly choosing to buy goods that are produced in their local area, rather than imported goods.

What are the reasons for this?

Is this a positive or a negative trend?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

In today's world, few people prefer local markets to buy necessary things instead of foreign goods. In my opinion, it's a positive trend because it increases the job opportunities and is good for the environment.

One main reason people prefer local markets is because they want to grow local shopkeepers. When consumers buy things from their nearby, more money stays in the local economy, which means more jobs create for local people. For instance, when people buy fruits and vegetables from the local store, it supports the farm to grow small businesses.

The other reason is beneficial for the environment. Local farmers have fresh and good-quality things, which means no need for storage when people buy goods locally, so transportation, gas, and fuel expenses are saved, which is not only good for the producer but as well as benificial for the planet.

However, imported goods can sometimes be cheaper because they are produced in bulk and made affordable for everyone. As a result, people prefer imported goods rather than local products.

In the conclusion, the increasing preference for the local market is a positive trend. Although imported products can provide low prices, buying local products provides jobs and overall growth of the society, and all help to protect the environment.

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AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for the trend and the writer's opinion on whether it is positive or negative. However, the essay is significantly under the 250-word minimum requirement, which severely limits the depth of development. While the ideas regarding economic growth and environmental impact are relevant, they are presented in a superficial manner. The conclusion is brief and does not fully synthesize the arguments presented. To improve, you must expand on your points with more detailed explanations and specific examples to meet the length requirement and demonstrate a more thorough exploration of the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. There is a basic attempt at using cohesive devices such as 'One main reason', 'The other reason', and 'However'. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes mechanical, and the transitions between sentences could be smoother. For instance, the link between the environmental argument and the conclusion is somewhat abrupt. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the overall flow is hindered by the brevity of the content and the limited range of cohesive devices employed.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite basic and repetitive. You rely on simple phrasing such as 'buy necessary things' and 'good-quality things'. There are also some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'grow local shopkeepers' (which should be 'support local businesses') and 'benificial' (spelling error). To reach a higher band, you should aim to incorporate more precise, topic-specific vocabulary related to economics and environmental sustainability, and ensure accurate spelling throughout the text.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow, such as 'more jobs create for local people' (passive voice error) and 'as well as benificial' (redundant structure). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence construction often feels simplistic. To improve, focus on mastering the passive voice, complex sentence connectors, and ensuring subject-verb agreement. Increasing the variety of sentence types will help demonstrate a higher level of grammatical control.

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

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