People can prepare various types of foods easily and in less time nowadays. What contributed to this improvement and has this development changed the way we live?
Sample Response
The art of food preparation is perhaps the oldest among all forms of arts and it is still evolving. It has changed a lot since the establishment of human civilisation. And perhaps the biggest change has occurred in modern time. Opinion is divided about the impact of this change on our life, while some say it has made our life easier, others feel that society has lost traditional foods and skills. I feel that modern way of preparing food has positive impacts on human life. Firstly, in today's time, time is considered a precious commodity. Taking clues from this concept, the cooking method has also changed. Nowadays supermarkets have larger sections of processed and precooked food than the fresh produce. This is because our generation finds that processed foods are time savers. One does not need cut, mix and cook from scratch. People think the saved time can be used in more productive and useful way such as spending more time with family on the dining table while enjoying food than on preparing the food itself. Therefore, with the availability of modern ingredients cooking has become easier and quicker. On the other hand, recipes are becoming simpler day by day, as no one wants to spend much time in the kitchen. Because of this traditional recipes and methods are getting forgotten. For example, nowadays, rarely anybody prepares 'Pua', a traditional Indian sweet, because of its complex a time-consuming cooking process. Some people also believe that because of readymade ingredients, the originality of taste is lost. Argument is that one would not find the cake prepared from instant-mix as tasty as those prepared by grandmothers at home. In nutshell, we can fairly conclude that modern way of food preparation is becoming popular day by day because of its simplicity and time saving nature, which in turn has positive impact on our life.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Fix the superlative phrase Original: oldest among all forms of arts Suggested revision: oldest of all art forms Why it matters: The superlative construction takes “of,” and “art forms” is the natural plural phrase.
- 2. Use the plural expression Original: time Suggested revision: times Why it matters: The established expression for the contemporary period is “in modern times.”
- 3. Use the plural noun Original: life Suggested revision: lives Why it matters: The statement concerns the lives of people generally, so the plural form is required.
- 4. Use the plural form Original: life Suggested revision: lives Why it matters: The plural possessive reference requires “lives” when describing people collectively.
- 5. Add the article Original: modern way of preparing food Suggested revision: the modern way of preparing food Why it matters: The singular countable noun phrase requires the definite article here.
- 6. Use natural number Original: positive impacts on human life Suggested revision: a positive impact on people's lives Why it matters: The singular expression is more natural for a general effect, and the plural noun matches the collective reference.
- 7. Use a logical link Original: Taking clues from this concept Suggested revision: In response to this need Why it matters: The revision connects the value of time to changing cooking methods more clearly and naturally.
- 8. Use the general plural Original: the cooking method has also changed Suggested revision: cooking methods have also changed Why it matters: The discussion concerns cooking practices generally, so a plural subject and verb are appropriate.
- 9. Use a direct verb Original: processed foods are time savers Suggested revision: processed foods save time Why it matters: The direct verb makes the claim more concise and natural.
- 10. Add the infinitive marker Original: does not need cut Suggested revision: does not need to cut Why it matters: “Need” requires a to-infinitive before this series of verbs.
- 11. Name the ingredient type Original: modern Suggested revision: convenience Why it matters: This phrase refers more precisely to the processed and ready-made ingredients described earlier.
- 12. Mark the opening phrase Original: Because of this traditional Suggested revision: Because of this, traditional Why it matters: The introductory prepositional phrase should be separated from the main clause with a comma.
Suggested Rewrites
- oldest among all forms of arts oldest of all art forms
- time times
- life lives
- life lives
- modern way of preparing food the modern way of preparing food
- positive impacts on human life a positive impact on people's lives
Why this response received Band 6.5
The essay addresses both questions and gives relevant examples of how processed foods save time while simpler preparation can weaken traditional skills and taste. Its strongest feature is the clear link between convenience and changes in daily life, but the one-paragraph structure and frequent awkward language make the progression less polished. Organise the causes and effects into separate paragraphs and revise article, verb, and collocation errors.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response identifies processed and precooked foods as a cause and explains both time-saving benefits and losses in tradition and taste with relevant support.
Distinguish the contributing development from its effects more explicitly and explain how convenience has changed daily routines beyond one family-time example.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument has a recognisable introduction, cause, positive effect, negative effect, and conclusion, but presenting everything in one paragraph weakens progression.
Use separate paragraphs for the cause, changes to daily life, drawbacks, and conclusion, with one controlling idea in each.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is adequate and sometimes specific, but frequent awkward collocations and repeated wording limit precision and flexibility.
Replace expressions such as today's time, taking clues, originality of taste, and time saving nature with concise natural alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Meaning is generally clear and several complex forms are attempted, but article, infinitive, punctuation, and agreement errors occur regularly.
Proofread for missing articles and to-infinitives, and correct malformed phrases such as complex a time-consuming cooking process.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
People can prepare various types of foods easily and in less time nowadays. What contributed to this improvement and has this development changed the way we live?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.