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 has been 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 would cost more than in 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 produced under familiar standards and regulations

I consider this trend to be strongly positive. Firstly, increased demand for domestic goods directly affects the economy. It promotes job creation in the communities. Secondly, less transportation of imported goods directly reduces the carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Last but not least, 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 customer’s desire to support local communities by buying locally grown goods. However, this trend is promoting positive outcomes such as economic growth 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 it is a positive development. The ideas are relevant, such as the mention of shipping costs and environmental benefits. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat brief. For instance, the example of the German car is a bit simplistic, and the point about 'familiar standards' is mentioned but not fully explained. To reach a higher band, you should aim to expand on your supporting points with more detailed analysis or specific real-world examples to demonstrate a deeper engagement with the topic.

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. You use some cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'In conclusion' to guide the reader. However, the flow between some sentences is slightly mechanical, and the use of referencing could be more sophisticated. For example, in the second paragraph, the transition between the cost of imports and the willingness to support local farmers feels a bit abrupt. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between ideas will help improve the overall cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'skyrocketing prices', 'transparency', and 'carbon emissions' appropriately. There are some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'among the people instead of buying overseas' which is slightly awkward, and 'job opportunities for public' which should be 'the public'. While you attempt to use more precise language, the range is somewhat limited. To improve, focus on using more sophisticated collocations and ensuring that your word choices are consistently natural and precise in an academic context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical slips, such as missing articles ('the' economy, 'the' atmosphere) and minor errors in noun-verb agreement or phrasing (e.g., 'consumer has to bear' should be 'consumers have to bear'). The punctuation is generally correct, but the sentence variety could be enhanced by incorporating more complex subordinate clauses. The errors present do not impede communication, but they do prevent the essay from reaching the higher bands where error-free sentences are the norm.

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