Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-24
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)
Nowadays, more people are choosing locally grown and produced goods to buy, instead of imported goods.
There are several reasons why people choose to buy local products. Firstly, most people think that buying locally grown products is a good option to help our own community to grow and also encourage our country to produce more local stuff so that to help economy grow. For Example, Some store in Vancouver, BC, sells locally grown fruits and vegitables and also they sells the products which is manufactured in BC. Secondly, Due to political reasons people feel angry to buy products which is produced by our enemy country. For Instance, Most of the Canadian folks stopped purchasing goods which is manufactured and grown and produced in USA. Due to some Political Reasons.
However, at some point it is a positive trend as buying local food and products help country grow and we do not need to depend of other countries for export and import.
Overall, it is good idea to buy local products rather than purchasing imported goods.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, reaching only 175 words. This significantly impacts the development of ideas. While the essay addresses both parts of the prompt—reasons for the trend and whether it is positive or negative—the arguments are underdeveloped and lack sufficient depth. The explanation regarding political reasons is vague, and the discussion on whether the trend is positive is extremely brief. To improve, you must expand your points with more detailed explanations and specific examples, ensuring you meet the length requirement to allow for a full exploration of the topic.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay uses basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'However' to structure the response. While these help in organizing the ideas, the progression is limited by the brevity of the paragraphs. The paragraphing is present but the content within them is sparse, making the overall flow feel disjointed. To achieve a higher band, you should aim to develop each paragraph with more supporting sentences and use a wider variety of linking words and phrases to connect ideas more fluidly between and within sentences.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but remains quite repetitive and simple. Phrases like 'local stuff', 'good option', and 'good idea' are basic and lack the precision expected at higher levels. There are also some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'manufactured and grown and produced', which is redundant. To improve, focus on using more sophisticated vocabulary related to economics and trade, and avoid repeating the same words in close proximity. Expanding your range of synonyms will help convey your ideas with more nuance.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('Some store... sells', 'they sells'), incorrect preposition usage ('depend of'), and awkward phrasing ('so that to help economy grow'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with capitalization and comma usage. While the meaning is generally clear, these errors are noticeable and occur throughout the text. You should focus on mastering basic sentence construction, subject-verb agreement, and proofreading for common grammatical slips to improve your accuracy.
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.