Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-27

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)

People like to shop from local market than international product. This is the positive trend to help the native country rather than the international country.

The majority of people are going for local shop to buy the any items such as grocery, food, clothes, electronic gadgets any many more. If a person buy a coffee for example from the USA based cafe' in Canada, then the individual is helping the seller country to earn profit. Which it will eventually profitable to the USA. Additionally, imported items may does not have the quality. For example a raw material of food may get rotten because its packed for longer period of time. No one knows how it come, like by air or by ship. Sometimes the expiry date has already been changed then the food product which is eaten by anyone can cause multiple disease. To prevent this, It is better not to buy anything from the imported items.

This is positive trend because it helps the native country as well as not putting anyone's life on risk. When a person bye the beverages from the Canada based cafe' then it will be reliable and trustworthy to buy because there is not any middle person who can get benefit. Also, All the ingredients which are used in the coffee for instance the milk, sugar, chocolate or the concentrated liquid are freshly made by the staff. Therefore it is not the frozen or processed food, so it does not harm any person.

To conclude, it is positive trend that the goods are buying from the local market or place than the imported ones. This is not only save the budget but also gives the healthy life to all the citizen.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for the trend and the writer's opinion on whether it is positive. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. The argument regarding food safety is generalized and lacks nuance, as it assumes all imported goods are of poor quality or dangerous. While the position is clear, the supporting arguments could be more sophisticated and better balanced. To reach a higher band, you should provide more concrete, logical examples and avoid over-generalizing about the risks of international trade.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, the phrase 'Which it will eventually profitable to the USA' is grammatically fragmented and does not link effectively to the previous sentence. Transitions between ideas are sometimes abrupt, and the logical progression within paragraphs is hindered by repetitive phrasing. Improving the variety of linking words (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'in contrast') would help the flow of the essay significantly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There is frequent repetition of basic words like 'good', 'buy', and 'positive'. Some collocations are unnatural, such as 'seller country' or 'international country'. Additionally, there are errors in word choice, such as 'bye' instead of 'buy' and 'any many more'. To improve, you should focus on learning topic-specific vocabulary related to economics and trade, and work on using synonyms to avoid repetitive language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a high frequency of grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('imported items may does not have'), article usage, and sentence structure ('Which it will eventually profitable'). While there is an attempt at complex sentences, they are often faulty, leading to confusion. The punctuation is also inconsistent. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically ensuring that every sentence has a clear subject and verb, and practice the correct use of auxiliary verbs and pluralization.

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

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