Some people prefer to eat at restaurants while others prefer to prepare and eat at home. Which one do you prefer?
Same question Compare all 2 answers See different approaches and band scores for this IELTS task.Sample Response
Many people go to the restaurants for a meal whereas the others cook and eat meals at home. In my opinion, I opt to cook and eat meals at home because I would argue that it is healthier than to eat at restaurants. Firstly, many restaurants do not purchase fresh foods since they would like to decrease the cost of meals. They do not attend to the cleanliness and hygiene of foods. Hence, some people get poisoned by eating in restaurants. It is particularly dangerous for children because they are more vulnerable and can be easily ill from the poor quality of foods. As it is known, many people eat using the same dishes and drink from the same cups and bottles which are not even properly cleaned. If these things are not cleaned properly, they can be extremely dangerous for human health. Secondly, to prepare and eat foods at home can be more economic especially for a family. Because to eat at a restaurant frequently would cost a large amount and that would be pretty tough for low wage earners. The good restaurants that maintain the quality and hygiene of foods cost a lot that average people won’t be able to accommodate. On the other hand, restaurants can offer some advantages. For instance, if you eat at a restaurant, you can save your time. Because to prepare and eat at home one needs to spend a considerable amount of time and effort which could have been used in other constructive works. In addition, some restaurants offer delicious and variety of meals including foreign menus that we could not make at home on our own. You can eat awesome meals there and drink wines in a fascinating atmosphere. Moreover, to prepare and eat at home is a tough task for single and busy people who have very less spare time. So restaurants can be a better alternative for those people. In conclusion, it is considered by many that health is more important than money and delicious meals. I believe that if we prepare meals at home, we can prepare foods and dishes properly and we can use healthy ingredients. However, if you eat at a restaurant, you can not be sure that the meals and dishes are clean and healthy.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Remove the article Original: the restaurants Suggested revision: restaurants Why it matters: No definite article is needed when restaurants are discussed in general.
- 2. Remove the article Original: the others Suggested revision: others Why it matters: “Others” already functions as a general plural pronoun here.
- 3. Use a direct collocation Original: would like to decrease Suggested revision: want to reduce Why it matters: “Reduce costs” is the more natural and concise collocation in this context.
- 4. Correct the collocation Original: attend to Suggested revision: pay sufficient attention to Why it matters: “Pay attention to” is the appropriate expression for giving proper consideration to hygiene.
- 5. Use natural wording Original: cleanliness and hygiene of foods Suggested revision: cleanliness and hygiene of the food Why it matters: The singular mass noun is more natural when food is discussed generally in this context.
- 6. Name the health problem Original: get poisoned by eating in restaurants Suggested revision: suffer food poisoning after eating in restaurants Why it matters: “Suffer food poisoning” is the standard expression for this illness.
- 7. Correct the verb phrase Original: can be easily ill from Suggested revision: can easily become ill because of Why it matters: “Become ill because of” correctly expresses the resulting condition and its cause.
- 8. Use a natural collocation Original: dangerous for human health Suggested revision: harmful to human health Why it matters: “Harmful to health” is the standard collocation for a negative health effect.
- 9. Use a gerund subject Original: to prepare and eat foods at home Suggested revision: preparing and eating food at home Why it matters: A gerund phrase is the natural subject form for this general activity.
- 10. Choose the right adjective Original: more economic Suggested revision: more economical Why it matters: “Economical” means cost-effective, whereas “economic” relates more broadly to the economy.
- 11. Complete the result structure Original: cost a lot that Suggested revision: cost so much that Why it matters: The “so … that” structure correctly links the high cost to its consequence.
- 12. Correct the affordability phrase Original: won’t be able to accommodate Suggested revision: cannot afford them Why it matters: “Accommodate” does not mean having enough money to pay for restaurant meals.
Suggested Rewrites
- the restaurants restaurants
- the others others
- would like to decrease want to reduce
- attend to pay sufficient attention to
- cleanliness and hygiene of foods cleanliness and hygiene of the food
- get poisoned by eating in restaurants suffer food poisoning after eating in restaurants
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response maintains a clear preference for home-cooked meals and supports it with several relevant comparisons involving health, cost, time, and convenience. Its impact is reduced by the absence of paragraphing and by frequent awkward collocations and sentence fragments, so the highest-priority improvement is to organise the argument into focused paragraphs and edit each sentence for natural noun, article, and comparative forms.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Response
A clear preference is sustained and supported with relevant reasons, although some claims about restaurant hygiene are overgeneralised.
Qualify broad claims and develop the health comparison with a more credible, specific example.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument follows a recognisable sequence, but the single-block presentation and mechanical linking weaken cohesion.
Divide the response into an introduction, focused body paragraphs, and a conclusion, avoiding isolated "Because" fragments.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is adequate for the topic, but frequent collocation and word-form problems reduce precision and naturalness.
Replace phrases such as "more economic", "save your time", and "very less spare time" with standard alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures communicates meaning clearly, despite recurring errors with articles, plurals, clauses, and comparisons.
Prioritise complete sentences and accurate countable-noun forms, especially "food", "a variety of meals", and "less spare time".
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people prefer to eat at restaurants while others prefer to prepare and eat at home. Which one do you prefer?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.