Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-20

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 times, consumers in Metro Vancouver are choosing locally grown produce over imported produce from outside the country. The increase in this choice has been so significant that the big supermarkets are selling a substantially lower amount of produce than locally owned grocery stores. People have been crowding the said grocery stores to get first grabs at the local produce before it is all sold out every day.

After talking to the people of my block, I can certainly see why they are constantly choosing the local produce over the imported ones from supermarkets. Some people are concerned about the produce being laced with harmful preservatives to lengthen their longevity to survive the long transit to reach across the world to reach supermarket shelves. Others are saying that the locally grown produce is not only fresher and tastier but also more nutritious and has many more health benefits. Furthermore, when I asked the people what the main reasons are for choosing local produce over supermarket ones, one thing was common among all, which was the affordability of the day to day consumed vegetables.

From my observations, I can clearly see and confidently say that this is a very positive social trend. As a result of people choosing more and more locally grown produce, the farmers and the small local businesses are now thriving instead of merely surviving. This is helping to build a better and more supporting community that are taking care of each other. On a broader scale, this is also helping our countries economy as we are not losing money over shipping and tarriiff costs to get our produce from overseas. However, it might also create a dip in the supply and demand chain and should the local farmers fail to keep everything up the society might create a shortage by themselves over time if the local businesses and farmers are nor supported through government systems.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by identifying reasons why consumers buy local produce, such as health benefits, freshness, and affordability, and clearly states a position that this is a positive social and economic trend. Ideas are supported with relevant examples and observations from the writer's local context in Metro Vancouver. While the discussion touches nicely on community building and economic impacts, some arguments, such as the mention of government systems, could be extended slightly further. However, all prompt requirements are covered well, earning a solid Band 7.0 for fully answering the prompt with a clear position throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay presents a clear logical organization and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, moving smoothly from the local context in the introduction to personal observations and reasons in the second paragraph, and finally to the evaluation of the trend in the conclusion. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'Furthermore', 'From my observations', and 'However'. Paragraphing is handled appropriately, although paragraph transitions could be slightly more refined. Overall, the structural progression is clear and easy to follow, aligning closely with the Band 7 criteria for logical organization.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student displays an adequate to sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items and phrasing such as 'substantially lower amount', 'harmful preservatives', and 'supply and demand chain'. There are some slight inaccuracies and informal expressions, such as 'get first grabs' instead of 'first choice' or 'priority access', and a spelling error in 'tarriiff' (tariff) and 'nor supported' (not supported). Despite these minor lapses, the vocabulary is flexible enough to allow precise communication of ideas, satisfying the requirements for Band 6.5, which sits comfortably between Band 6 and Band 7.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures reasonably well, as seen in 'should the local farmers fail to keep everything up'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasing spots, such as 'imported ones from supermarkets' and 'a better and more supporting community that are taking care of each other' (where 'supporting' should be 'supportive' and 'that are' refers back to a singular community). Punctuation is generally fine, but occasional slips occur. The errors rarely impede communication, placing the writing securely at Band 6.0.

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

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