Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-03

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 5.5)

It is important to know that few customers are extensively selecting the products that are manufacture locally, instead of purchasing international products.The demand of locally make product is always present it is easy to find in the market that's the reason people always tend to buy domestic goods.But some individuals always prefer to purchase the imported goods. Which is negative trend because it effect our economy, for further elaboration i will give reasons and explain the positive and negative impact of this behaviour.

Firstly, the domestic product cheaper to consume bacause their is no import duty on them or shipping costs, the local industry always generate jobs for our nationals and make a great contribution in the country economy. I want explain it by an example plastic furniture which is manufacture in our country is easily available everywhere people can buy more cost effective price, their also no waiting time involved it is readily present. On the other hand if import that furniture form other country that cost consumers more and have longer waiting time to arrive in the maket for purchase.

I also want to mention that the imported products have better quality and durability the standards of manufacturing are high in foreign countries. Some people always prefer to buy international products because they feel its good in qaulity and few individuals associate with the status symbol.

In the conclusion i strongly support the domestic product because this trend boost our country economy and solve the problem of unemployement, but i also admit some product which is not easily available in the local market should be imported and later on produce natively.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing the reasons why consumers buy local goods and evaluating whether this trend is positive or negative. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others. For instance, the reasons behind the trend, such as cost effectiveness and job creation, are supported with a relevant example regarding plastic furniture. Conversely, the discussion regarding the positive and negative impacts lacks equal depth, and the student's stance is slightly contradictory in places, such as when mentioning the better quality of imported items while simultaneously arguing that the domestic trend is entirely positive. To reach the next level, all parts of the prompt need to be extended with fully elaborated supporting details and a consistently clear position throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the writing into an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and faulty. For example, transitional phrases like 'for further elaboration i will give reasons' feel awkward, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the pronoun use in sentences like 'Which is negative trend because it effect our economy'. Paragraphing is used, but the logical progression between ideas within paragraphs could be smoother. To improve, the writer needs to use cohesive devices more naturally and ensure that the relationship between sentences is transparent and logically connected without relying on repetitive transitional templates.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common terms such as 'durability', 'import duty', and 'status symbol'. However, there are noticeable word choice, word form, and spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'manufacture' instead of 'manufactured', 'bacause', 'qaulity', and 'unemployement'. These inaccuracies do not heavily impede communication, but they restrict the score. To achieve a higher band, the student must expand their lexical control, ensure accurate word forms in different grammatical contexts, and eliminate spelling mistakes through careful proofreading.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in structure. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, including run-on sentences, missing articles, and errors in subject-verb agreement, such as 'the domestic product cheaper' and 'their is no import duty'. While these errors rarely completely impede understanding, they occur with enough frequency to hold the writing at this level. To progress, the student needs to demonstrate better control over basic sentence construction, ensure appropriate verb forms are used consistently, and improve punctuation to make complex structures more accurate.

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

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