Some people think that shops shouldn’t be allowed to sell food or drink that has been scientifically proven to be bad for people’s health.

Practice this IELTS Writing Task 2 question on IELTSX. Some people think that shops shouldn’t be allowed to sell food or drink that has been scientifically proven to be bad for people’s health.

Banning shops from selling scientifically proven unhealthy food and drink - IELTS Writing Task 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Do you agree or disagree ?

Write at least 250 words.

A student's answer to this task, and the feedback on it

Written by an IELTSX user under exam conditions and published unedited and anonymously. Band 6 · 252 words.

Some people argue that unhealthy food and drinks should not be sold in local shops, because they have a negative impact on people's health. I strongly disagree with this view because I think people should be able to make their own food choices, and banning these products would not stop people from buying them elsewhere.

The first reason is that people should have the freedom to choose what they eat. Everyone knows that sugary drinks and junk food are unhealthy, but they provides dophamine which helps people stay in a good mood. Moreover, adults are responsible for their own health and they can choose what to eat for themselves. Every product contains nutrition information on its packaging. Therefore, consumers can read this information and decide whether they want to buy it.

Another reason is that banning unhealthy products would not solve the problem. Futhermore, people will find other places to buy these products. It will be useless, and uneffectively.Moreover, it would affect the income of local business owners. This could lead to financial difficulties for local businesses. Instead of introducing bans, the government should educate people about healthy eating so that they can make informed decisions.

In conclusion, although unhealthy food can be harmful, people should be responsible for their own diets. I strongly believe that people should be free to choose what they eat, and banning unhealthy food would be an effective solution. Istead, it would be better, if government educate people about healthy eating and help them make informed choices.

Examiner feedback

The essay achieves a solid Band 6.5 by clearly addressing the prompt with a consistent opinion and logical structure. While the arguments are well-supported, the score is primarily constrained by recurring spelling errors and minor grammatical slips that prevent it from reaching the Band 7 range in all categories.

Task Response - 7

- The candidate addresses all parts of the task and presents a clear position throughout the response. - Main ideas are relevant (personal freedom and lack of effectiveness) and are supported with logical extensions. - The conclusion contains a slight contradiction/slip (saying banning 'would be an effective solution' when they mean 'ineffective'), though the intent remains clear from the context.

Coherence & Cohesion - 6

- Information is arranged coherently with a clear overall progression from introduction to conclusion. - Cohesive devices like 'Moreover' and 'Therefore' are used, though 'Moreover' is overused as a repetitive transition. - Paragraphing is logical, with each body paragraph focusing on a distinct central topic.

Lexical Resource - 6

- An adequate range of vocabulary is used for the task, including topic-specific terms like 'nutrition information' and 'financial difficulties'. - Spelling errors occur in common academic words (e.g., 'futhermore', 'uneffectively', 'dophamine', 'istead'). - Some word choices are slightly imprecise but do not impede the general meaning.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy - 6

- Uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though complex structures often contain minor errors. - Subject-verb agreement errors are present (e.g., 'they provides'). - Punctuation is generally functional but includes some unnecessary commas (e.g., 'it would be better, if').

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