Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-17

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Doctors tell us that we can get all the vitamins we need from having a healthy diet. Despite this advice, some people continue to spend large sums of money on vitamin pills.

Why do you think some people spend a lot of money on vitamin pills?

How could people be persuaded to improve their diet instead of buying vitamin pills?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 7.5)

Doctors often advise people that a balanced diet can provide all the essential vitamins and minerals required for good health. Nevertheless, many people continue to spend considerable amounts of money on vitamin supplements. This essay will discuss the reasons for this behaviour and suggest ways to encourage people to improve their diets instead.

There are several reasons why people choose vitamin pills over healthy food. First, supplements are convenient and require very little effort. People with busy lifestyles may find it easier to take a tablet every morning than to plan and prepare nutritious meals. Second, advertising can strongly influence consumers. Vitamin companies often promote their products as an easy way to increase energy, strengthen immunity or prevent illness. As a result, some people believe that taking supplements is a quick solution to health problems. Finally, some individuals may lack knowledge about nutrition and mistakenly assume that taking more vitamins will automatically make them healthier.

However, people could be encouraged to improve their diets through better education and greater public awareness. Schools and workplaces could provide simple information about the benefits of eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains and other nutritious foods. Governments could also run public campaigns explaining that supplements are not a substitute for a balanced diet. In addition, making healthy food more affordable could encourage people to choose fresh food instead of spending money on unnecessary supplements. For example, supermarkets could offer discounts on fruits and vegetables, while schools could provide healthy meals and teach children basic nutrition.

In conclusion, people often buy vitamin pills because they are convenient, heavily advertised and perceived as a quick way to improve health. However, education, public awareness and affordable healthy food could persuade more people to obtain their vitamins naturally through a balanced diet. In my view, developing healthy eating habits is a more sustainable approach to maintaining good health than relying unnecessarily on supplements.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The response fully addresses all parts of the task by discussing both why some people spend a lot of money on vitamin pills and suggesting how they could be persuaded to improve their diet instead. Your position is clear throughout the essay, beginning with the introduction and supported well in the conclusion. The ideas are well-developed and extended appropriately. For instance, in the second body paragraph, you clearly explain the role of convenience, advertising, and lack of nutrition knowledge. In the third paragraph, you provide practical solutions such as school education, public campaigns, and making healthy food more affordable. The examples given, like supermarkets offering discounts on fruits and vegetables, strengthen your arguments and show a thoughtful approach to the prompt. This performance fully meets the criteria for Band 7.5 to 8.0, demonstrating a well-supported and fully developed response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

Your essay demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a clear central topic, starting with an introduction, moving to reasons, then offering solutions, and finishing with a well-formulated conclusion. You use cohesive devices effectively, such as 'First', 'Second', 'Finally', 'However', and 'In addition', which guide the reader smoothly through your arguments without feeling mechanical. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, separating distinct thoughts into coherent sections. Referencing is clear and unambiguous, ensuring the relationships between ideas are easy to follow. While cohesion is well managed, it occasionally relies on standard transition markers rather than more sophisticated, subtle cohesive links, which is why it sits comfortably at a strong Band 7.0 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary that allows for flexibility and precision in discussing health and nutrition. You successfully use less common items with good awareness of style and collocation, such as 'balanced diet', 'essential vitamins and minerals', 'busy lifestyles', 'strengthen immunity', and 'sustainable approach'. Word choices are generally appropriate, and spelling is accurate throughout the text. While your vocabulary is fully adequate to convey complex ideas clearly, it stops just short of the wider, highly fluent range required for Band 8, as it occasionally leans on expected vocabulary rather than highly sophisticated or nuanced phrasing. Overall, your lexical control is solid and supports the communication of your ideas effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 8.0

You display a good control of grammar and punctuation, utilising a variety of complex sentence structures effectively. Examples include conditional and subordinate clauses such as 'People with busy lifestyles may find it easier to take a tablet every morning than to plan and prepare nutritious meals' and 'Governments could also run public campaigns explaining that supplements are not a substitute for a balanced diet.' There are frequent error-free sentences throughout the essay, and punctuation is handled correctly. Grammatical errors are practically absent, and control over tense and agreement is consistent. Because the majority of your sentences are error-free and you display a wide range of structures with high accuracy, this response demonstrates characteristics of a Band 8.0 performance.

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