Task 2 · Problem and solution · Environment
Food that is grown and never eaten
A problem-solution essay on food waste, where the band 9 answer shows that most of the damage is done before anything reaches the bin.
The question
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.
In many wealthy countries, a large proportion of the food that is produced is never eaten and ends up being thrown away. What problems does this cause? What measures could be taken to reduce the amount of food that is wasted?
A 250-word discursive essay — the half of the paper that carries two thirds of the marks. This prompt is original, written in the standard format for teaching purposes — it is not taken from any past paper.
What separates the three answers
The 6.5 lists landfill gas, unfairness and recycling centres; the 7.5 finds that waste is built into how food is sold but gives its remedies equal weight; the 9 shows that most of the damage is done before food reaches the bin, and ranks prevention, redistribution and treatment accordingly.
The three answers
Band 6.5
279 words (the task asks for at least 250)The answer works. It addresses the task, the reader follows it, and the meaning survives — but ideas stay general, linking is mechanical, wording repeats, and small errors are visible throughout.
The answer
Nowadays, in many rich countries, a lot of food is thrown away every day by the families, the restaurants and the supermarkets. This is a big problem for the environment and also for the society. In this essay I will discuss the problems of food waste and some solutions to reduce it.
The first problem is that the food waste is harmful for the environment. When the food goes to the landfill, it produces bad gases which cause the global warming3. Also, a lot of water and energy is used to grow the food and transport it, so when we throw it away, all these resources are wasted too. Another problem is that it is not fair. There are many poor people in the world who do not have enough food to eat, but in rich countries people throw the good food in the bin every day.2 Moreover, the families waste their money when they buy food and it go bad in the fridge.
There are some solutions which can reduce this problem. Firstly, people should plan their shopping and buy only the things they really need. They can make a list before they go to the supermarket. Secondly, supermarkets should give their extra food to the charities instead of throwing it, so the poor people can eat it. Thirdly, the government should build more recycling centres1 where the food waste can be change into the fertiliser or the energy4.
In conclusion, food waste causes the environmental problems and it is also unfair for the poor people.5 I believe that if the people, the supermarkets and the government take these actions, the amount of wasted food will decrease significantly.
What an examiner notices
1. Task response
“Thirdly, the government should build more recycling centres”
Recycling changes what happens to food once it has been wasted; it does not reduce the amount wasted, which is what the question asks. The measure answers a different question.
2. Task response
“There are many poor people in the world who do not have enough food to eat, but in rich countries people throw the good food in the bin every day.”
A striking contrast with no mechanism behind it. The essay does not explain how less waste in one country would feed people in another, so the problem is asserted rather than shown.
3. Lexical resource
“it produces bad gases which cause the global warming”
'Bad gases' is a placeholder for 'methane', the one word the point needs. The article before 'global warming' is also not used in English.
4. Grammatical range and accuracy
“can be change into the fertiliser or the energy”
The passive needs the past participle: 'can be changed into fertiliser or energy'. Articles are again added to uncountable nouns.
5. Coherence and cohesion
“In conclusion, food waste causes the environmental problems and it is also unfair for the poor people.”
The conclusion re-lists the problems and then the solutions in the order the body gave them, adding no judgement about which measure would matter most.
One honest caveat
Band labels here describe what each piece of writing demonstrates against the four published assessment areas, paraphrased in plain language. They are teaching illustrations produced for this site, not official material, and no sample has been marked by a test provider. Real scripts are marked whole; two answers with the same label can still look quite different from each other, and nothing on this page can promise anyone a particular result.
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