Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-12

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)

Local produces are becoming more popular among the buyers and are being purchased more than the imported goods. There are several reasons for that which we would discuss further in the essay.

I feel, most recent and prominent reason is that people are becoming more aware of the situation nowdays, in promoting local businesses. This helps people in several sectors to get better job oppportunity,locally, which indirectly helps in the growth of the economy.

In addition to this, the goods are cheaper as mostly the raw materials are locally sources and this make it also easily accessible to the sellers, reducing their expenses.Moreover, local goods are more familiar with the residents as they are locally sourced or grown.

Although it might be contracting to some, as they may feel imported goods are as much valuable to their local markets as local goods, to boost their market value as well as to obtain more profit margin. Example of such scenerio is that some autombile or gadget parts which are manufactured outside the coutry may not be available locally and therefore needs to be sourced from outside.

We can also argue that imported goods also indireclty boost tourism as we have immigrants settling abroad try to source their local accomodities abroad. This means more availabilties of imported products meaning larger markets and greater number of buyers.

Therefore we can conclude,that local products are as important as the imported productss, because individually and combined play major role in sustaining the markets of the world.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for the trend and whether it is positive or negative. However, the development is somewhat superficial. While you mention economic growth and accessibility, the arguments lack depth and specific examples. The discussion on whether the trend is positive or negative is slightly muddled; you present a balanced view but do not clearly state your own position, which is a requirement for a higher band. To improve, ensure each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and fully developed supporting points that directly answer the prompt's questions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the logical progression between ideas is sometimes weak. For example, the transition between the benefits of local goods and the counter-argument regarding imported goods is abrupt. While you use some cohesive devices like 'In addition to this' and 'Moreover', they are sometimes used mechanically. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'Although it might be contracting to some', where the meaning is obscured by imprecise vocabulary and phrasing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward word choices or incorrect collocations, such as 'local produces' (should be 'local produce'), 'contracting to some' (likely meant 'contradictory'), and 'local accomodities' (likely meant 'commodities'). These errors occasionally hinder the flow of the text. To improve, focus on learning the correct context for business-related terms and ensure you are using nouns and adjectives accurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that occasionally impede clarity. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'goods are... and this make it'), missing articles, and spelling errors like 'nowdays', 'oppportunity', and 'coutry'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma placement. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and sentence structure consistency.

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

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