The tradition of families getting together to eat meals is disappearing. What are the reasons? What are the impacts?
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Sample Response
Nowadays,Nowadays, it seems that families tend to eat together less frequently. This essay will put forward some explanations for this trend and an analysis of the potential impacts.
The fact that family members choose not to eat with each other can be attributedattributable to two reasons. Firstly, since people these days tend to have heavier workloads and more hectic schedules than in the past, sharing a family meal may be impracticalsitting down to share a meal with their family members might not be a convenient choice. Instead, these individuals usually eat out with their friends, colleagues or business partners near their workplaces, which can suit their schedules betternear their workplace which can be more suitable for their timetable. Secondly, the fast food culture of modern life can influencechange people’s eating habits because it is widely available and usually inexpensivebecause fast food can be found everywhere and is usually an inexpensive food choice. For instance, young people in Vietnam often grab a quick meal after a busy day at work or school, which leads them to skipskipping meals with their family on returning homewhen they go home.
The trend has both positive and negative effects on family membersboth positive and negative impacts on people. In terms of the benefits, people gain greater flexibility in their schedulespeople are able to be much more flexible with their time. They will not have to show up at a fixed hour to have meals with their family and can eat whatever they want, whenever they choosewhatever and whenever they want. However, in terms of the negative effects, this can lead to a weaker family bond. If a family continuously eats separately, family members may not be able to share their thoughts and feelings with each othershare their thoughts, feelings with each other, and therefore may feel isolated from each other. This will result in a lack of a deep family connectiona lack of deep family connection.
In conclusion, the tendency for family members to eat separatelythe tendency of family members eating separately is mainly caused by differences in their schedulesthe difference in their schedules or a preference for fast foodthe preference to eat fast food, which can have both positive and negative impacts.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response addresses both causes and impacts clearly, and its paragraph structure makes the argument easy to follow. Its main limitation is that some points, especially the fast-food cause and the positive impact of flexibility, remain fairly general, while a few awkward grammatical constructions reduce polish. Strengthen each causal link with a more specific explanation or example and edit gerund, coordination, and collocation choices carefully.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both requested causes and impacts are covered with a clear explanation, though some ideas remain somewhat general or briefly developed.
Explain more precisely how fast-food habits displace shared meals and illustrate the longer-term significance of each impact.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response is well organised with clear paragraph purposes and smooth overall progression, despite some formulaic internal signposting.
Vary the repeated cause-and-effect and contrast signals so relationships remain clear without sounding mechanical.
Lexical Resource
A flexible range of topic vocabulary conveys ideas precisely overall, with only occasional awkward collocations and phrasing.
Refine combinations such as 'difference in their schedules' and 'lack of deep family connection' into more idiomatic expressions.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentences are varied and mostly well controlled, while a small number of gerund, coordination, and noun-phrase errors reduce accuracy.
Correct patterns such as 'leads them to skipping' and proofread coordinated nouns and gerund-based phrases for complete structure.