In many countries, people throw away a lot of food from restaurants and shops. Why do you think people waste food in this way? What can be done to reduce the amount of food thrown away?
Sample Response
Food waste is a growing global problem. It happens because people often buy more than they need and the best countermeasure would be to cut down on portion sizes.
Food waste is mainly a result of individuals ordering or purchasing too much food. Many people order extra when dining out to ensure they are not hungry at the end of the meal. Humans are a planning and predicting animal and this is a natural instinct. The same drive partly explains purchasing too much food at the supermarket but there are other possible sources. For example, ambitious shoppers intending to cook a variety of dishes during the week, may buy a lot of healthy fruits and vegetables. If they are busy or cannot summon the initiative, the produce will spoil within a few days and they will have to throw it out and make other plans.
The solution is to reduce the amount of food people eat. A reinforcing cycle of over-eating by obese consumers can lead to greater food waste. People order or buy more than they need and stuff themselves at every meal. Over time, this becomes an ingrained habit and they purchase increasingly greater quantities of food, some of which will naturally go bad or be thrown out if they cannot finish it. A good counter-example to this practice would be in France, which is famed for smaller portion sizes. Food waste is dramatically lower in France simply because people eat modest meals and are therefore more likely to eat all their food. This could be replicated in other nations if governments reformed school meals and took other key steps.
In conclusion, food waste has deep psychological roots and the best solution is for individuals to reduce the size of their average meal. A shift like this will require a concerted effort from both ordinary citizens and health officials.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use the natural term Original: countermeasure Suggested revision: solution Why it matters: Solution is the more natural word for a proposed response to this problem.
- 2. Use concise wording Original: cut down on portion sizes Suggested revision: reduce portion sizes Why it matters: Reduce portion sizes expresses the same idea more directly and formally.
- 3. Correct the complement Original: a planning and predicting animal Suggested revision: a species that plans and predicts Why it matters: The singular complement animal does not agree naturally with the plural subject Humans.
- 4. Name causes accurately Original: sources Suggested revision: causes Why it matters: Causes, rather than sources, accurately refers to reasons for food waste.
- 5. Remove the stray comma Original: week, may Suggested revision: week may Why it matters: A comma should not separate the subject phrase from its verb.
- 6. Use a natural phrase Original: summon the initiative Suggested revision: find the motivation Why it matters: Find the motivation is the idiomatic way to express willingness to cook.
- 7. Use standard spelling Original: over-eating Suggested revision: overeating Why it matters: Overeating is normally written as one word.
- 8. Avoid a faulty comparison Original: greater Suggested revision: large Why it matters: Increasingly greater combines two comparative forms unnecessarily.
- 9. Use the correct concept Original: counter-example Suggested revision: contrast Why it matters: France is presented as a contrasting practice rather than a counterexample to a formal claim.
- 10. Complete the construction Original: would be in France Suggested revision: can be found in France Why it matters: The revised verb phrase connects the example to its location naturally.
- 11. Clarify the reference Original: This could be replicated Suggested revision: This practice could be replicated Why it matters: Naming the practice gives the demonstrative a clear referent.
- 12. Smooth the solution sequence Suggested revision: Order the proposed reduction in portions, the overeating cycle, the France comparison, and the school-meal measure so each step connects explicitly to the next. Why it matters: The final move from individual portions to government action is abrupt within the current progression.
Suggested Rewrites
- countermeasure solution
- cut down on portion sizes reduce portion sizes
- a planning and predicting animal a species that plans and predicts
- sources causes
- week, may week may
- summon the initiative find the motivation
Why this response received Band 7.5
The essay offers a clear explanation of over-ordering and over-purchasing, and its fluent organisation and varied sentence structures make the argument easy to follow. The main limitation is that the proposed solution becomes narrowly focused on eating less and does not fully explain practical action by restaurants, shops, or governments. Develop a more targeted solution, such as portion options or improved stock management, and show clearly how it reduces discarded food.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both questions are addressed with relevant development, but the solution is somewhat narrow and its practical delivery remains vague.
Develop one concrete measure for restaurants or shops and explain the mechanism by which it would prevent waste.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response is logically organised and cohesive, though the solution paragraph shifts between overeating, portion size, and government action somewhat abruptly.
Give the solution paragraph a single controlling idea and connect each example explicitly to that measure.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and generally precise, with a few awkward or overstated choices in otherwise fluent expression.
Prefer exact operational language for solutions and avoid imprecise phrases such as unspecified other key steps.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of sentence forms is handled with strong control, and the few lapses do not impede meaning.
Polish minor agreement and punctuation details, especially around long noun phrases and embedded modifiers.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
In many countries, people throw away a lot of food from restaurants and shops. Why do you think people waste food in this way? What can be done to reduce the amount of food thrown away?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.