Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-29

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)

Nowadays people prefer locally manufactured products rather than buying things made outside the country. In this essay we will discuss some of the reasons behind this, which include the sudden introduction of trade wars and tarrifs on global trade, and the influx of low quality mass produced goods from China, and talk about whether this trend will have a positive or negative impact overall.

One of the main reasons behind this are all the ongoing trade wars between countries and the excessive tariffs being imposed on most goods. This has had an infaltionary effect on the prices of all products, due to which the price difference between locally made and imported has become negligible. Being cheap was one of the main selling points of these imported good, without which people have no reason to choose them out of all other options. This works hand-in-hand with the other reason, which is that locally made goods are of better quality, and have more variety and originality, as the companies making them are working at a much smaller scale. On the other hand, these imported goods are mass produced in a factory somewhere, with no regards to quality or originality of design.

Now whether this has a positive effect or not is matter of debate, but in my opinion it will definitely have more of a net positive effect in the long run. For example, ever since people in India have started buying more locally produced electronics, and stopped buying imported chinese products, it has led to a huge boom in the local electronics industry and a lot of new companies have opened up. This has greatly benefited the local economy, and generated new jobs and livelihoods for people.

Although there are some negative effects from this phenomena as well, where politicians like Donald Trump use people's tendencies of liking local production to create unnecessary trade wars and political distractions. But in the end buying local is still is a net positive for the economy, and this behavioural change in the average consumer is a boon.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both questions and state a clear view: buying locally is “a net positive” in the long run. The reasons—tariffs reducing the price advantage of imports and consumers perceiving local goods as higher quality—are relevant, and the India example supports your view by linking local electronics purchases to business growth and jobs. This meets the core requirements well. However, the reasons are not equally developed: the claim that imported goods are generally low quality and lack originality is broad and would benefit from a specific explanation or example. The negative effects are also only briefly mentioned, with the trade-war point not fully connected to the consequences of consumer choice. More balanced development would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall progression: an introduction, a paragraph explaining reasons, a paragraph supporting your positive view, and a final qualification. Linking phrases such as “On the other hand,” “For example,” and “Although” help readers follow the argument, and the India example is placed where it supports your position. This is a well-organised response with a clear line of development. Some connections are less smooth: “This works hand-in-hand with the other reason” is vague, and the final paragraph introduces politicians and trade wars without fully showing how this point follows from the preceding discussion. Make references more precise and use transitions to explain the relationship between ideas, rather than relying mainly on signposting phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range of topic vocabulary, including “tariffs,” “inflationary effect,” “mass produced,” “local economy,” and “livelihoods.” These choices allow you to discuss trade, product quality, and employment with reasonable precision. There are also attempts at more evaluative language, such as “net positive” and “a boon.” However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or overly broad: “the price difference between locally made and imported” is incomplete, while “with no regards to quality” is not idiomatic. Spelling slips such as “tarrifs,” “infaltionary,” and “chinese” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise phrasing and check spelling and collocations carefully, especially in claims about imported products.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including relative clauses (“as the companies making them are working at a much smaller scale”) and a concessive opening (“Although there are some negative effects…”). Most ideas remain clear, but some grammatical errors persist. For example, “One of the main reasons behind this are” has subject–verb disagreement, and “Now whether this has a positive effect or not is matter of debate” is missing an article. The final sentence, “buying local is still is a net positive,” contains an unnecessary repeated verb. There are also some long sentences where punctuation and clause boundaries could be controlled more carefully. Proofread for agreement, articles, and sentence structure while retaining your range of complex forms.

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