How to read the question

• This is an opinion essay in the form positive or negative development. You must make a clear judgement, either mainly positive, mainly negative or a clearly explained mixed view, and keep it consistent.
• The focus is the development itself: the global food supply in supermarkets. Discuss its effects on consumers, farmers, economies and the environment, not supermarkets in general.
• Development implies a change over time, so you can compare the present with the past, when people mainly ate local and seasonal produce.
• Consider more than one group: consumers gain choice and year-round availability, while local farmers and the environment may lose out, which gives you material for a balanced but decisive answer.
• Avoid drifting into an essay about healthy eating, fast food or online shopping, which are different topics.
• If you choose a mainly positive view, acknowledge the main drawback, such as the carbon cost of transporting food, and explain why the benefits still outweigh it.

Suggested position

Although transporting food over long distances has environmental costs, I believe that the global availability of food in supermarkets is a largely positive development, because it gives consumers greater variety and food security and supports farmers in exporting countries.

Paragraph plan

1. 1

   Introduction

   Paraphrase the situation that supermarkets now sell food from around the world, and state your view: largely positive, despite environmental drawbacks.

2. 2

   Body paragraph 1: benefits

   Explain the benefits for consumers (wider variety, fruit and vegetables all year, a more varied diet, cultural exchange through cuisine) and for producer countries, such as farmers in developing nations earning income from exports like coffee, bananas or avocados. Mention greater food security when local harvests fail.

3. 3

   Body paragraph 2: drawbacks and why they can be managed

   Acknowledge the carbon emissions from air and sea freight and the pressure on local farmers who cannot compete on price. Then argue that these problems can be reduced through clear labelling, support for local agriculture and choosing seasonal produce where possible.

4. 4

   Conclusion

   Restate that the development is largely positive, while recognising that consumers and governments should limit its environmental and economic downsides.

Ideas and arguments

• Consumers enjoy a far wider choice of food, including fruit and vegetables that cannot be grown locally, such as bananas in northern Europe.
• Seasonal produce is available all year round, which helps people maintain a varied and healthy diet.
• Global trade improves food security, because shortages caused by a poor local harvest can be covered by imports.
• Exports provide income and jobs for farmers in developing countries, for example coffee growers in Ethiopia or Colombia.
• Trying food from other countries increases understanding of other cultures and encourages culinary creativity.
• Transporting food long distances, especially by air, produces significant carbon emissions, a problem often described as food miles.
• Local farmers may be unable to compete with cheaper imports, which can damage rural economies and traditional produce.
• Imported fresh food may be picked early and stored for long periods, so it can be less fresh and flavoursome than local produce.

Band 8+ model answer

289 words · An original model answer written for ieltswrites, not an official answer. It stays in English, as in the exam.

Why this answer scores highly

Task Response

The essay gives a clear judgement that the development is largely positive, supports it with developed benefits for consumers and producer countries, deals with the environmental and local farming drawbacks, and keeps the same position throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion

The benefits and the drawbacks are each given a paragraph, the concession is clearly signalled, and cohesive devices such as as a result, admittedly and nevertheless link ideas smoothly.

Lexical Resource

Topic-specific language such as year-round availability, food security, food miles, export earnings and undercut is used precisely, and the key idea of the question is paraphrased in several ways.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

The essay uses a range of complex structures, including relative clauses, conditional forms, passive constructions and concessive clauses, accurately and naturally.

Useful vocabulary

imported produce

food, especially fruit and vegetables, brought in from other countries

year-round availability

being available in every season

seasonal produce

food that is naturally grown and harvested at a particular time of year

food miles

the distance food travels from where it is produced to where it is eaten

carbon footprint

the amount of carbon dioxide produced by an activity

food security

reliable access to enough affordable, nutritious food

a varied diet

eating many different types of food

global supply chain

the international system of producing, transporting and selling goods

export earnings

money a country or producer earns by selling goods abroad

undercut

sell something more cheaply than a competitor

local farmers

people who grow food in the area where it is sold

air freight

transporting goods by plane

culinary

connected with cooking and food

outweigh

be greater or more important than something else

Common mistakes

• Describing both advantages and disadvantages without ever deciding whether the development is positive or negative overall.
• Writing about supermarkets in general, such as convenience or opening hours, instead of the availability of food from all over the world.
• Focusing only on consumers and ignoring wider effects on farmers, developing countries and the environment.
• Making exaggerated claims such as imported food is always unhealthy or all local farmers will go out of business.
• Changing position in the conclusion, for example calling the development positive in the introduction and mainly harmful at the end.
• Repeating food from all over the world instead of paraphrasing with imported produce, international food products and goods from overseas.

Frequently asked questions

Which Cambridge book is this question from?

This question about supermarkets selling food produced all over the world is Writing Task 2 of Test 4 in Cambridge IELTS 19 Academic, published in 2023.

Can I say the development is both positive and negative?

Yes, but you should still make an overall judgement, for example that it is mainly positive despite some drawbacks, and explain why one side outweighs the other.

What examples can I use for imported food?

Simple, accurate examples work best, such as bananas or coffee that cannot be grown in cooler countries, fruit flown in out of season, and farmers in developing countries who rely on exports.

How many words should I write for this Task 2?

Write at least 250 words; about 270-310 words is enough to give a clear judgement and develop it in 40 minutes.