Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-09

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 6.5)

In recent years, there is a gradual increase in demand for locally produced products among the people instead of buying overseas. This trend is mainly driven by the rising costs of imports and consumer’s desire to support local businesses. In my view, it is a positive development because it can strengthen local economy and reduce environmental damage.

The main reason is rising costs of imported goods. Whenever a product is bought overseas, consumer has to bear additional charges such as shipping fees and tariffs. These charges can significantly increase the final retail price. For example, a german car bought internationally by someone in India would cost more than the country of origin.

Another contributing factor is buyer’s willingness to support local farmers, manufacturers and retailers. This also provides job opportunities for public. Furthermore, people prefer to buy goods from the local market under familiar conditions and regulations, especially food items.

I consider this trend to be strongly positive. Firstly, increased demand for domestic goods directly affects the economy. It promotes jobs creation in the communities. Secondly, less transportation of imported goods directly reduces the carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Last but not least reason is that it promotes transparency between companies and consumers, which helps the businesses to maintain quality of the product they are selling to customers.

In conclusion, increasing demand for local produce is the result of skyrocketing prices for imported goods and people’s desire to support communities by buying locally grown goods. However, this trend is promoting positive outcomes such as growing economy as well as decreased air pollution.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, identifying reasons for the trend and clearly stating a position that it is a positive development. The ideas are relevant, such as the economic impact and environmental benefits. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat brief. For instance, the point about 'familiar conditions and regulations' is mentioned but not fully explained or exemplified. To reach a higher band, the student should provide more detailed elaboration or specific examples for each supporting point. The position is consistent throughout the essay, and the conclusion effectively summarizes the main arguments presented in the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'The main reason is', 'Another contributing factor', and 'Firstly/Secondly'. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For example, the transition between the discussion of job creation and the mention of 'familiar conditions' in the second paragraph is a bit abrupt. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow, meeting the requirements for a band 6.5 or 7.0 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate and allows for clear communication. The student uses some topic-specific terms like 'tariffs', 'carbon emissions', and 'transparency'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies and repetitive phrasing. For example, 'skyrocketing prices' is a good collocation, but 'the country of origin' is slightly awkward in the context of the car example. The range is sufficient for the task, but it lacks the sophistication and precision required for higher bands. To improve, the student should focus on using more varied and precise collocations and avoiding repetitive structures.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as missing articles ('the' economy, 'the' public) and subject-verb agreement issues ('consumer has to bear' should be 'consumers have to bear'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede communication. The student attempts complex sentences, but they are not always error-free. To achieve a higher score, the student needs to demonstrate more consistent control over articles, pluralization, and complex sentence construction, ensuring that the majority of sentences are error-free.

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

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