Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-04

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 6.0)

It is undeniable that importing and exporting consumer goods have become commonplace these days. Some people choose to buy local items for various reasons instead of importing them. I believe it is a positive trend, and I will mention the reasons behind this trend.

To begin with, importing goods has become costlier than ever before.

People can not afford to buy expensive imported items, as they have extra duty charges. Moreover, these products cause negative impacts on local sellers. So, local people try to avoid using heavy-duty items and buy from local sellers to help them financially. In addition to that, local people keep foreign affairs in mind. If their relations with other countries are not good, then they start to avoid any kind of exchange with them.

Although there are some benefits to avoiding foreign exchange for an individual country. People can become self-sustaining for their own growth. They do not need to rely on other countries. For instance, the USA and Canada are no longer good economic friends. Then Canada becomes self-independent and no longer relies on trade deals with the USA. Moreover, when people become self-sustainable, they can produce anything more efficiently because they do not have to wait for approval for the raw materials of the product. As a result, production runs more efficiently without any problems.

To conclude, there are some reasons for reducing the number of imported goods from around the world, but it is beneficial for individual nations, as it removes reliance on each other. If it continues in the future, then all countries will be self-independent.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the reasons for buying local and the opinion on whether it is a positive or negative trend. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. The explanation regarding 'foreign affairs' and the example of the USA and Canada are quite vague and lack sufficient depth to fully support the argument. While the position is clear, the reasoning could be more detailed and logically connected to the prompt's core themes of economic and environmental impact. The essay covers all requirements but remains at a surface level, which prevents it from reaching a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, and there is a logical progression of ideas. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To begin with', 'Moreover', and 'In addition to that', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and the connection between sentences within paragraphs could be smoother. For instance, the transition between the economic reasons and the political 'foreign affairs' point is abrupt. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but the overall structure could benefit from more sophisticated linking to create a more cohesive flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate their ideas clearly. There is an attempt to use some topic-specific language like 'self-sustaining', 'economic friends', and 'trade deals'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of imprecise word choice, such as 'heavy-duty items' (which is not the correct term for imported goods) and 'foreign affairs' (which is used in a slightly unnatural way in this context). To improve, the student should focus on using more precise collocations and a wider variety of academic vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'People can not afford to buy expensive imported items, as they have extra duty charges' (the pronoun 'they' is ambiguous here) and 'Then Canada becomes self-independent' (tense inconsistency). Punctuation is generally correct, but some sentence constructions are slightly awkward. The control of grammar is sufficient for communication, but the frequency of errors prevents a higher score. A greater focus on sentence variety and error correction is needed.

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