IELTS essay sample | Fast foods are bad. Do you agree?
Essay topic
The fast food industry has negative effects on our health, the environment and family eating habits. Do you agree or disagree?
Sample essay
Fast foods have invaded our kitchen and living room. They have changed our eating habits and made us prone to developing several health problems. I certainly agree with the argument that fast foods have a negative impact on our health and on the environment.
To start with, fast foods cause several health problems. They are rich in calories and make us obese. Regular consumption of fast foods leads to several health problems including diabetes, heart trouble and liver damage.
Most people who consume packaged food products are actually aware of their health consequences; still they can’t resist the temptation to eat them. There are several reasons to this. First, fast foods taste better. They use several ingredients that make us addicted to them. Second, fast foods are readily available. It takes hours to cook a meal. Today, most of us lead busy lives that leave us with little time to cook or clean. As a result, we are often compelled to buy fast foods even though we are aware of their health consequences.
Fast foods have a negative impact on the environment as well. The junk food industry uses plastic for packaging. The environmental consequences of plastic are well-known. Each year tons of plastic end up in landfills. It spoils the soil and clogs the drains.
Eating habits of families have also changed due to the adoption of fast foods. Parents and children munching on packaged foods sitting in front of a television is now a common sight. Gone are the days when families used to sit around a table to enjoy a meal.
To conclude, fast foods have a negative impact on almost all aspects of our life and the environment. In my opinion, it is high time we expelled them from our lives.
Hi,what is the band score for an answer like this? Student has not paraphrased the question, isn’t it compulsory to paraphrase question, to get higher band?
No, it is not compulsory to paraphrase the question. You just need to address the task. That’s all. The given essay should get band 8 to 8.5. These are approximate values. The IELTS essay task tests your ability to express your ideas coherently. Grammar is an important thing to consider. So is your vocabulary. Grammar mistakes will bring your score down. So, the examiner is more interested in evaluating your ability to express your ideas in grammatically correct English. They aren’t trying to assess your ability to paraphrase. By the way, who said the student hasn’t paraphrased the question in this essay? All the ideas mentioned in the question are included in the first paragraph of the essay. That is enough.
I hope I have answered your question.