Today’s food travels thousands of miles before it reaches customers. Why is this so? Is this a positive or negative development?
Sample Response
These days, we no longer completely rely on locally grown food as we can purchase food grown in distant countriessome distant land whenever we want. Advances in transportation and technologyAdvancements in the transportation system and technology have made it possible. Though this trend has some benefits as it gives consumers greater choicewidens our freedom as consumers, it has some severe disadvantages which make it a harmfuldangerous trend.
We live in a global village, and with the introduction of rapid transport systemsthe speedy transportation system, food grown anywhere cancould be transported to other parts of the world. It ensures that people can buy many types of local and foreign fruits, vegetables and other food items from nearby marketsfrom the nearby markets. "If something is not locally grown, import it" - globalisation and the advancement in technology have made it a reality.
However, this does not come without a price. The transportation of food requires more fuelrequires burning more fuel, and this is detrimental to the environment. MerelyJust to supply imported fruitinternationally grown fruits, we are degrading our environment. This is a price we cannot afford to pay. Another negative impact of transporting food is putting the local farmers into competition, and they are forced to produce more items at a lower cost, and hence the increasing use of chemicals. In this way,This, in a way, is reducingdeclining the quality of locally grown food items.
Furthermore, consumers are often forced to purchase imported food that iswas preserved and produced using chemicals and preservativeswith the use of chemicals and preservatives. They are harmful to our health, and people are purchasing those items at higher prices. Importers cannot ensure the freshness and nutritional value of imported foodproper nutrition of imported food. Local sellers also preserve them for several days. This makes it less nutritious and less fresh than locally produced fruits and vegetables.
In conclusion, I believe that transporting food over long distancesover a long distance is undesirable and has more negative consequences than positive ones. It threatens our local farmers, and on top of that, imported, chemically preserved fruits and vegetableschemically preserved fruits and vegetables that are being imported are not a healthy choice at all.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response presents a clear negative judgement and develops several relevant consequences in a logical sequence, especially environmental and health concerns. Its main limitation is that the explanation of why food travels so far is comparatively brief and largely confined to transport and technology, while some claims and expressions lack precision; prioritise a fuller causal explanation supported by carefully qualified, clearly expressed reasoning.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both questions are answered with a clear position, though the causes receive less development than the negative effects.
Explain additional drivers such as consumer demand, seasonal availability, or global trade economics before evaluating the consequences.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response follows a clear progression from cause to consequences and conclusion, with effective paragraphing.
Strengthen links between adjacent claims and clarify pronoun references so each supporting point follows seamlessly.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and topic-appropriate, but several collocations and claims are imprecisely expressed.
Use more exact phrases for imported produce, competitive pressure, declining quality, and nutritional value.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex and simple structures are handled with generally good control, although agreement and reference slips remain.
Check noun-pronoun agreement and sentence subjects carefully, especially where singular food and plural items alternate.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Today’s food travels thousands of miles before it reaches customers. Why is this so? Is this a positive or negative development?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.