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)

Nowadays, the increasing number of people are preferring to buy things that are being made in their surrounding area, rather than foreign goods.

There are so many reasons regarding this, it have some positive trends which will be discussed in the further paragraph.

The first and foremost positive trend is that local goods are reasonable and easily available for middle class and poor people. While, this is not only of less amount but also more preferrable by middle class and local people. Secondly, local producers and community will earn. Whereas, Individuals are willing to buy from local producers, then they will earn more and better than imported branded producers.

Moreover, The hype is not even that worth for imported goods. For instance, a local coffee shop has better taste of coffee and snacks than a big branded cafe. Furthermore, people are just making the things so hype after getting photos and videos on social media to look cool and then everybody just follows the same. However, when you taste the coffee or snacks it will not even that worth, the local coffee shop or any other shop have better taste than those branded ones respectively.

On the other hand, there is one negative trend for this is that although imported goods are branded, those are in best quality. For example, if you buy any branded clothes and wear that it will last longer than some of the local buyers shop.

In Conclusion, although branded goods are best, we have to buy local goods and start supporting the community. The imported ones are already famous and are earning so much. It will benefit the local consumers too because they are not able to buy expensive things. So it is better to support local business correspondingly.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for buying local and the evaluation of the trend. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. The reasons provided (affordability and supporting the community) are relevant but lack depth. The discussion on the 'positive or negative' aspect is slightly confused; you argue it is positive, then introduce a negative point about quality, but the conclusion does not clearly synthesise these views. To improve, ensure each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and provides more detailed, logical explanations rather than relying on repetitive statements about 'hype' or 'branded goods'.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, 'While, this is not only of less amount but also more preferrable' is grammatically awkward and does not function well as a transition. The use of 'Whereas' at the start of a sentence is also misused. Some ideas within paragraphs do not flow logically, particularly in the third paragraph where the argument about social media 'hype' feels disconnected from the main point about local versus branded quality. More varied and precise linking words are needed.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. You rely on simple descriptors like 'reasonable', 'better', and 'worth'. There are also issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'less amount' (instead of 'lower price') and 'branded producers'. The phrase 'making the things so hype' is informal and grammatically incorrect. To achieve a higher score, focus on using more sophisticated vocabulary related to economics and consumer behaviour, and ensure that words are used in their correct collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('it have some positive trends'), incorrect article usage ('the increasing number of people'), and awkward sentence structures ('the local coffee shop or any other shop have better taste than those branded ones respectively'). While you attempt some complex sentences, they are often marred by errors. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, subject-verb agreement, and the correct use of articles before attempting more complex structures.

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

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