Fast food and rising health problems
This is a model answer written to show what a Band 7 response looks like against the marking criteria. It is a worked example, not a graded submission. To see your own band, paste your writing into the free checker.
The prompt
In many countries, the popularity of fast food is growing, and rates of obesity and other diet-related illnesses are rising with it. What problems does this trend cause, and what can be done to address them?
Band 7 model answer (260 words)
Fast food has become the default meal for millions of busy people, and the health of whole populations is suffering as a result. This essay will outline the main problems this trend creates and suggest some realistic ways to tackle them.
The most serious problem is the steady rise in diet-related illness. Meals that are high in fat, salt and sugar contribute directly to obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease, conditions that once affected mainly older adults but are now appearing in children. Beyond the personal cost, this places an enormous burden on public health systems, since treating chronic illness consumes money that could otherwise fund schools or hospitals. There is also a quieter social effect: when cheap takeaway food replaces cooking at home, many young people never learn to prepare a balanced meal at all.
Fortunately, governments and individuals can both act. The most effective public measure is to make unhealthy food less attractive and healthy food easier to choose, for example by taxing heavily processed products, restricting junk food advertising aimed at children, and requiring clear calorie labels on menus. Schools can reinforce this by teaching basic cooking and nutrition, so that convenience is no longer the only option people know. At the individual level, even small habits help, such as preparing simple meals in advance for busy weekdays.
In conclusion, the growth of fast food is driving up obesity and chronic disease and straining health services. The problem can be eased through taxes, advertising limits and better food education, combined with modest changes in personal habits.
Why this reaches Band 7
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Task Response
Both halves of the question are answered: the problems paragraph moves beyond "people get fat" to public spending and lost cooking skills, and each solution connects back to a named problem.
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Coherence and Cohesion
Problems and solutions sit in separate paragraphs, and signals like "The most serious problem" and "Fortunately" move the reader through the argument without a chain of mechanical linkers.
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Lexical Resource
Natural topic language such as "diet-related illness", "chronic disease", "heavily processed products" and "a balanced meal", used accurately rather than for show.
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Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Confident complex sentences, including the colon structure in "a quieter social effect:" and result clauses with "so that", with very few slips.
The one fix to reach Band 7
A Band 6 version of this essay usually names obesity as the problem and "eat healthier" as the solution, then stops. The change that reaches Band 7 is development: for each problem, explain who is affected and why it matters, and make each solution answer a specific problem you raised.
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