Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-18

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 7.0)

I strongly believe that choosing to buy local goods over imported ones is a negative trend. All over the world, globalisation is evident in many products and all involved countries have benefitted from it economically. When compared to other nations, the countries which export particular goods are able to harness their comparative advantages in the form of natural resources, raw materials, etc. which, in turn, enables those countries to manufacture the products at lower costs.

Many people from the older generation believe that, by buying imported goods, they would stop supporting local businesses and negatively impact employment opportunities within their communities. They percieve that, by purchasing items manufacured ourside their country, they would give away their nation's money to another country. However, they are unaware that the same money is reinvested back into their nation in the form of foreign investments. So, it would be a win-win situation for both countries.

In the long term, this autarkic thinking would hinder the overall growth of one's national economy as it would refrain the national workforce from investing in operations to manufacture other items which could be potentially be produced locally at lower costs. As a result, the price of locally manufactured products would increase throughout the nation because local manufacturers would have to pay more for sourcing the materials needed to develop the products, which would eventually lead to economy inflation within that country.

Globalisation is not a bad thing. However, to fully understand the benefits of globalisation, more efforts would be required to create awareness among the larger population. People in various countries involved in international trade would greatly benefit by reduced costs of imported goods and economical growth of their respective country from overall exports.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt by identifying reasons why people buy local goods and evaluating the trend as negative, presenting a clear position that globalisation and international trade are beneficial. However, the writer takes a somewhat unusual stance by arguing that choosing local goods is a negative trend, which is fully acceptable; the ideas are generally well developed. The first body paragraph explains comparative advantages and lower manufacturing costs abroad, while the second and third paragraphs discuss older generations' perspectives and the long-term economic risks of 'autarkic thinking', such as inflation. Although the exploration is largely coherent, the arguments could have been extended with more concrete real-world examples rather than purely theoretical economic assertions. Overall, the task is adequately fulfilled, meeting the Band 7 level where all parts are addressed and a clear position is maintained throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay displays clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, moving smoothly from the introduction and economic context to opposing views and the writer's final critique. Cohesive devices such as 'When compared to', 'However', 'In the long term', and 'As a result' are used effectively to guide the reader through the argumentation without feeling overly mechanical. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, separating the distinct ideas logically. Referencing is mostly clear, though a few transitional links could be slightly more tightly woven to achieve the seamless progression expected at higher bands. Nonetheless, cohesion is well managed, comfortably satisfying the requirements for Band 7.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The writer demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary with some flexibility and precision, successfully employing less common economic terms such as 'globalisation', 'comparative advantages', 'raw materials', 'foreign investments', and 'autarkic thinking'. There are, however, occasional slips in word choice and spelling, notably 'percieve' instead of 'perceive', 'manufacured' instead of 'manufactured', 'ourside' instead of 'outside', and 'economical growth' instead of 'economic growth'. Furthermore, the phrase 'economy inflation' should be 'economic inflation' or 'inflation'. Despite these lexical and spelling inaccuracies, the vocabulary is adequate for the task and does not impede communication, placing the response solidly at Band 6.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The writer displays a good command of grammatical structures, successfully utilising a mix of complex and compound sentences. Examples include conditional and participial constructions such as 'When compared to other nations, the countries which export particular goods are able to...'. There are a few minor grammatical lapses, such as 'could be potentially be produced', which contains a redundant modal/adverb pairing, and some slightly awkward phrasing like 'refrain the national workforce from investing' instead of 'prevent or deter'. Punctuation is generally sound, and the majority of sentences are constructed accurately, ensuring that meaning remains entirely clear. This performance aligns well with the descriptors for Band 7.

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

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