In some countries, it is becoming increasingly common for people to follow a vegetarian diet. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
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Sample Response
There is an increasing trend for people in some nations to eat vegetarian foodhave vegetarian foods for their meals. This essay arguesthinks that the benefits do not outweigh the drawbacks because although vegetarian diets can reduce carbon footprints, consuming only vegetablesconsuming vegetables only may lead to nutritional deficiencies. The main advantage of followinghaving a vegetarian diet is that carbon emissions can be reduced. Animal agriculture accounts for a significant portion of carbon footprints because animal feed has to be transported a long way to farmers, and animals release a large amount of carbon dioxide after they eat the feed. For example, a studyresearch by the University of Australia found that around 35% of global carbon emissions are35% of carbon emissions around the world is from animal agriculture, and if everyone ateeats vegetables, the carbon footprint of animal agriculturecarbon footprint in animal agriculture can be reduced by one third. However, this essay argues that people may not be able to get nutrients that are availablenutrients which is available only in meats if they consume only vegetablessolely consume vegetables. One disadvantage is that vegetarian diets may cause nutritional deficiencies. That is because vegetables do not contain nutrients or minerals that are available in meatmeats, and in the long run, vegetarians may sufferin the long run vegetarian may suffer from diseases caused by nutritional deficiencies. For instance, meat provides mineralsmeats provide minerals such as iron to strengthen the red blood cells. If people do not consumegain enough iron, their immune systems will be weakened, and in the most serious casesin most serious case, brain functionfunctions will be impaired. Therefore, this essay believes that a balanced diet with meatmeats and vegetables should be followed. In conclusion, although eating only vegetableseating vegetables solely can reduce carbon emissions, unbalanced diets with only vegetables may lead to nutritional deficienciesdeficiency.
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response states a clear position and examines one environmental benefit against one health disadvantage, with examples that make the line of argument easy to follow. Its main limitation is oversimplifying vegetarianism as eating only vegetables, which weakens the accuracy and depth of the comparison; prioritise a more nuanced evaluation of varied vegetarian diets while reducing repetition and correcting recurring article, agreement, and plural-form errors.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The question is directly answered with a consistent position and developed supporting ideas, though the analysis rests on an overly narrow definition of vegetarianism.
Evaluate realistic vegetarian diets and acknowledge how careful food choices or supplementation affect the claimed nutritional disadvantage.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument progresses logically and linking is generally clear, but the single-block presentation and repeated formulations weaken paragraph-level organisation.
Separate the introduction, advantage, disadvantage, and conclusion into distinct paragraphs with less repetitive signalling.
Lexical Resource
There is sufficient range to discuss environmental and nutritional issues, but repetition and several awkward collocations reduce precision.
Use more accurate expressions such as “a study,” “meat,” and “a severe case,” while varying repeated references to vegetables and deficiencies.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentences are used with generally clear meaning, although recurring article, agreement, and singular-plural errors remain noticeable.
Check noun countability and agreement in phrases such as “research,” “nutrients that are,” and “vegetarians may suffer.”