Nowadays many people choose ready-made food and refuse to cook at home. Why do you think it happens? What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a choice?
Sample Response
It is a very popular practice in the modern society to order ready-made food from restaurants, rather than cooking at home. The main reasons for such a tendency may be cheap prices in some restaurants and people’s desire to save some time from cooking. Even though ordering food have some obvious advantages, its disadvantages should not be underestimated.
On the one hand, ordering prepared food may be the best choice for a busy person, who does not have time for cooking and cleaning. Cooking food at home requires a considerable amount of time, moreover the cleaning process may take even more time and resources than cooking itself. For example, cooking a simple dish such as chicken with rice and home requires significant amounts of water and electricity for electrical appliances such as the oven and dishwasher. Hence, having an opportunity to order food from a restaurant will save a lot of time, electricity and water.
On the other hand, delegating the process of cooking to some restaurant have a dramatic disadvantage of not having the information about the ingredients used in the meals. With high demand, grow the volumes of required products, which sometimes can affect the quality of purchased produce. For example, it is a very common practice in some restaurants to make salads from products that are about to go bad and mask the rotten scent by adding some chemicals and spices. Hence, some restaurants may use poor quality products or chemicals for boosting taste and preservatives, which may have a negative effect on the customer’s health in the long run.
In conclusion, ordering food from restaurants may be a tempting choice for people who have no time for cooking at home, but this approach has a critical disadvantage of being not informed about the ingredients used in the meal, which can have destructive consequences.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Remove unnecessary article Original: the modern society Suggested revision: modern society Why it matters: The general uncountable expression ‘modern society’ does not take ‘the’ here.
- 2. Use natural collocation Original: cheap Suggested revision: low Why it matters: Prices are described as low rather than cheap.
- 3. Correct time collocation Original: save some time from cooking Suggested revision: save time on cooking Why it matters: ‘Save time on’ is the natural collocation for reducing time spent on an activity.
- 4. Fix subject-verb agreement Original: have Suggested revision: has Why it matters: The gerund phrase ‘ordering food’ is singular and requires ‘has’.
- 5. Remove restrictive comma Original: a busy person, who Suggested revision: a busy person who Why it matters: The relative clause identifies the type of busy person meant, so it should not be separated by a comma.
- 6. Use concise verb Original: requires Suggested revision: takes Why it matters: ‘Takes’ expresses the time requirement more directly and naturally.
- 7. Correct preposition Original: and Suggested revision: at Why it matters: ‘At home’ is the correct phrase for the place where the cooking occurs.
- 8. Use precise category Original: electrical Suggested revision: kitchen Why it matters: ‘Kitchen appliances’ identifies the relevant equipment more precisely in this context.
- 9. Use appropriate modal Original: will Suggested revision: can Why it matters: ‘Can’ expresses a possible benefit more accurately than the definite future form ‘will’.
- 10. Improve noun phrase Original: an opportunity to order food Suggested revision: the option of ordering food Why it matters: ‘The option of ordering food’ is a more natural phrase for an available choice.
- 11. Remove wordiness Original: it is a very common practice Suggested revision: it is common practice Why it matters: The shorter expression conveys the same meaning more naturally.
- 12. Choose precise wording Original: products that are about to go bad Suggested revision: ingredients that are about to spoil Why it matters: ‘Ingredients’ and ‘spoil’ are more precise for food used in a salad.
Suggested Rewrites
- the modern society modern society
- cheap low
- save some time from cooking save time on cooking
- have has
- a busy person, who a busy person who
- requires takes
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response is logically organised and develops its main advantage and disadvantage with clear explanations and examples. Its main limitation is that the reasons for choosing ready-made food receive only brief treatment, with the price point left undeveloped, while several language errors reduce precision. The highest priority is to develop the causes as distinctly and fully as the benefits and drawbacks.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
All parts of the task are addressed, and the main advantage and disadvantage are extended with relevant explanations and examples.
Develop both stated causes, especially affordability, as fully and distinctly as the advantages and disadvantages.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through clear paragraphs, although some linking is mechanical and one or two sentence connections are awkward.
Use a wider range of naturally integrated transitions and avoid linking independent clauses with punctuation alone.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a good range of topic vocabulary, but several inaccurate collocations and word choices reduce precision.
Improve collocational control in phrases about saving time, food quality, demand, and ingredients.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures communicates meaning clearly, despite recurring agreement, article, and sentence-structure errors.
Check subject-verb agreement carefully and revise awkward clause structures such as inverted or comma-joined sentences.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Nowadays many people choose ready-made food and refuse to cook at home. Why do you think it happens? What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a choice?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.