Academic Writing - Task 2 (Model Answer)

Some people think that the main influence on young people's diet is advertising rather than family and friends. To what extent do you agree or disagree ?

Today young people’s diet consists of plenty of unhealthy junk food. This may be due to their parent’s busy lifestyle. Being at work all day means that parents have hardly any free time to cook a healthy meal for their family. Young people also spend a lot of time watching television and surfing the internet which gives fast food restaurants the opportunity to promote their food.

A person’s environment has an impact on their diet. If a young person eats all their meals at home and one of their parents cooks for them on a daily basis then they are likely to have a balanced diet. Parents that take responsibility for their children’s nutrition will therefore have a greater influence on their eating patterns. Friends also play an important role in a person’s choice of food because youngsters spend most of their free time with their friends and they are subject to peer pressure too.

Advertising for food is conveniently placed  on billboards, slotted during breaks of popular TV shows and pop ups while surfing frequently visited sites. These colorful ads have catchy tunes, are easy to remember, display delicious-looking food and promise free gifts or special offers. All these factors make dining at these outlets very attractive. It seems that marketing departments have found a successful way to lure young people and influence their preferences.

To sum up, I believe that what a young person eats depends on who they spend the most time with and their family’s philosophy towards food. If children spend many hours in front of the TV or a computer they will get to see more advertisements for ready meals and they will be the ones trying to convince their parents to take them out for some fast food.

Question taken from Direct to IELTS, Student's book p.59

Academic Writing - Model Answer (Task 1)

The pie charts show five waste disposal methods used for dangerous products in three countries.

To begin with, Korea employs three methods. Most dangerous waste material is re-cycled (69%). The remaining 31% is either buried or burnt. In Sweden, burial is the favored way of dangerous waste material disposal with more than half the waste being disposed in this way. A quarter is recycled and 20% ends up incinerated. Finally, like Sweden, the United Kingdom chooses to place dangerous waste underground (82%). Equal proportions are dumped at sea or chemically treated. Only 2% is burnt.

Korea is the only country that disposes of dangerous matter responsibly by recycling it. The United Kingdom does not use this method at all and is the only country that dumps waste in the sea and uses chemical treatment. Lastly Sweden and the UK predominantly prefer to get rid of hazardous material by burying waste underground.

Question taken from Official IELTS Practice Materials 2

Academic Writing - Model Answer (Task 1)

The bar charts show which areas contain the world’s oil reserves as well as the proportion of yearly oil use globally by region.

The Middle East has the greatest percentage of total world oil resources by far. This amounts to more than a half of global supply (56.52%). All the other countries listed have less than 15% of the world’s reserves with Canada having 14.84%. Eastern Europe and Africa have almost the same percentage, whilst Australia and New Zealand have less than 1% of this resource.

Asia (26.21%) and the United States (25.48%) consume most of the world’s oil every year, closely followed by Western Europe (19.24%). All other areas mentioned consume very little oil, less than 7% with Australia and New Zealand only using 1.31%.

The charts show that even though the Middle East has the greatest supply of oil, it is Asia, the USA and Western Europe that consume the largest amount of oil. Australia and New Zealand do not have much oil and they have the lowest consumption as well.

Question taken from official IELTS Practice Materials 2

Academic Writing - Model Answer (Task 1)

The two maps show the anticipated changes in a school over a 20 year time span to accommodate an increase in student numbers by 400.

Initially, in 2004 the school consisted of a single car park near the main entrance to the school and two school buildings separated by a path. Following the path east would lead a student to the sports field. The remaining area was made up of greenery.

2024 sees the sports field being moved south in order for an additional school building to be erected. Building 1 and 2 are to be connected and the path no longer leads to the main entrance but rather becomes shorter. A road will be built from the main entrance, behind building 2 and lead to Car Park 2. This construction means that the wooded area will be reduced somewhat.

In an effort to expand the school due to more students, an additional car park and building are expected to be built as well as an adjoining road. This expansion will reduce the size of the woods to the south and north east of the buildings.

Question taken from Official IELTS Practice Materials 2

General Training Writing – Model Answer (Task 2)

Some people think that wild animals should not be kept in zoos. Others believe there are good reasons for having zoos. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Many big cities have zoos which are an added attraction for visitors. Zoos generate income for a country and provide jobs to zoo keepers and other staff members. Zoos are also beneficial to animals. Animals that are under threat of extinction in the wild such as pandas, tigers and black rhinos can survive and be well looked after by zoo keepers. If they had been left in their natural habitat these animals may have been killed by poachers or died out because of human activities. Zoos provide an opportunity to visitors to view animals that they wouldn’t have been able to see and to learn some useful facts about them.

On the other hand, some people don’t support keeping wild animals in zoos as they believe this is cruel. They think that these animals should be free in their natural environment and not locked up in confined areas. Animals in zoos are kept in cages in unnatural conditions where they forget how to hunt, are subjected to noisy visitors, lack exercise, are fed at regular intervals and have humans taking photos of them at close proximity during the day. This is bound to cause stress to the animals.

Rather than having zoos, it would be better to have large safari parks where animals can live freely in the wild and at the same time be protected as well as offering visitors an opportunity to see them. Zoos limit wild animals and it is selfish for humans to keep them in cages just to make money and to entertain children.

Question taken from official IELTS Practice Materials 2

General Training Writing – Model Answer (Task 1)

You have heard about plans to build new apartments in a public park near your home. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. In your letter.

• Explain how you learnt about these plans
• Say what you think of the park
• Give your opinion on the plans

Dear Sir or Madam,

I recently heard that private contractors intend to erect a new block of apartments in Amber public park which is located directly opposite my house. This information came to my knowledge as my husband is an architect and he was approached to undertake this task.

I have been living near Amber park for 50 years and I have fond memories of it. Both my children and grandchildren have spent endless hours in the park. This beautiful park is a great place to spend the weekend with your family. You can enjoy a peaceful picnic by the lake with the ducks.

As you can imagine I was devastated to hear about these construction plans. The local residents enjoy the greenery the park provides as well as the exercising opportunities. It would be a shame to destroy this natural environment in order to add to the concrete jungle.

I hope you publish this letter so we can prevent the plans being carried out.

Yours faithfully,

Diana Nyad

Question taken from Official IELTS Practice Materials 2

Academic Writing - Model Answer (Task 2)

Even though doctors all over the world agree that fast food is bad for people's health more and more people are eating it. Why are more people eating fast food? What can be done about this problem?

Fast food is easily available. It can be found at every street corner and its availability and convenience makes it attractive to consumers. Fast food is cheap and is ready instantly so those on a budget and those in a hurry will choose this food. Due to our competitive, busy and fast-paced lifestyle people who work long hours don’t have time to shop healthy ingredients and spend time preparing a well -balanced meal. Instead it has become extremely easy to drop into a fast-food outlet for a ready meal.

Let us not forget that fast food is high in sugar, fat, salt, calories and this makes it tasty. You get an instant buzz from eating it and want to continue eating it even though you are aware of the health risks.

It is up to each individual to be responsible for their own diet and health. They should try as much as possible to make positive life choices and improve their well-being. The government can impose higher taxes on fast food outlets to protect people’s health and discourage them by making this type of food expensive. At the same time they should subsidize fresh vegetables and fruit in order to lower the price and make these products attractive to consumers and affordable.

Award winning chefs like Jamie Oliver have also helped greatly in promoting simple, fast, cheap and healthy cooking option for ordinary people who don’t have much time to prepare a meal for their family. Ultimately, if people stopped consuming fast food these eateries would not exist anymore.

Question taken from Official IELTS Practice Materials 2