In recent decades, it has become increasingly to buy food grown overseas in local supermarkets. Overall, I think that this has been a positive change. Being able to buy food produced in other countries means that people can enjoy a more varied diet, and this can have significant health benefits. For example, fruits and vegetables like and broccoli, which are known to help people become more resistant to , can only be grown in warm climates, so consumers in would not be able to eat them without food imports. the trend towards consuming food grown overseas means that countries will be less reliant on domestic food production to feed their , thus providing them with greater food security. If a country suffers from a poor harvest, perhaps caused by floods or drought, be able to produce sufficient food on its own to supply the domestic market. Imports of food from overseas can help counteract this risk. However, this development is not all positive. Shipping via long-distance routes has a negative environmental impact due to the emitted . Nevertheless, new technologies, such as cleaner fuels, can help limit these harmful emissions. In conclusion, although there are some negative environmental effects , the positives far outweigh any downsides since the benefits of improved diet and domestic food security are quite significant.
Imported Food in Supermarkets: Positive or Negative Development
In many countries nowadays, consumers can go to a supermarket and buy food produced all over the world. Do you think this is a positive or negative development?
Annotated response
12 correction notes
Overall assessment
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response presents a clear position and develops it with well-chosen supporting ideas on diet, food security, and environmental impact, showing a logical overall progression. The main limitation is its slight brevity at eight words under the minimum, along with a counterargument paragraph that is comparatively underdeveloped.
IELTS criteria
How each score was decided
Task Response
7.0The response addresses the question directly with a consistent position, relevant main ideas and examples, though it falls eight words short of the required length and the counterargument receives only brief development.
Coherence and Cohesion
7.0Ideas are organised logically across clear paragraphs with a range of cohesive devices such as 'for example', 'thus', and 'nevertheless' used naturally.
Lexical Resource
7.0Vocabulary is sufficiently flexible and precise, with topic-appropriate items like 'food security', 'domestic market', and 'harmful emissions', with only minor inaccuracy such as 'counteract this risk'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
7.0A variety of complex structures, including conditionals and relative clauses, is used with good control and produces frequent error-free sentences.