Why people exercise less than before
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, people today do far less physical exercise than previous generations did. Why is this happening, and what can be done to encourage people to be more active?
Band 7 model answer (257 words)
It is widely observed that people today move far less than their parents and grandparents did. This essay will explain the main reasons for this decline and then suggest how individuals and governments can reverse it.
The chief cause is that daily life no longer requires movement. Earlier generations walked to work, did physical jobs and washed, cleaned and shopped by hand, whereas modern adults drive to an office, sit at a screen for eight hours and order groceries online. Exercise has shifted from an unavoidable part of the day to an optional hobby, and hobbies are the first thing people drop when they feel busy. Technology deepens the problem in leisure time as well, since streaming services and smartphones make sitting still more entertaining than it has ever been.
The solutions need to make activity convenient again rather than simply telling people to try harder. City planners can build safe cycle lanes and pleasant walking routes, so that the active choice becomes the easy choice for short journeys. Employers can contribute with standing desks, walking meetings and subsidised gym memberships. For individuals, the most realistic approach is to attach movement to existing routines, for example getting off the bus one stop early or taking stairs instead of lifts, because small habits survive busy weeks better than ambitious fitness plans do.
In conclusion, people exercise less because modern work, transport and entertainment have removed movement from ordinary life. The answer is to design it back in, through better urban planning, supportive workplaces and small, durable personal habits.
Why this reaches Band 7
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Task Response
Both questions get a full paragraph, and the causes and solutions mirror each other: life "no longer requires movement", so the fix is to "design it back in". That link is what makes the answer feel complete.
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Coherence and Cohesion
A clear map in the introduction, one paragraph per question, and cohesion carried by meaning ("deepens the problem", "The solutions need to...") rather than by a list of connectors.
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Lexical Resource
Expressive but controlled phrasing such as "an optional hobby", "the active choice becomes the easy choice" and "small, durable personal habits".
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Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Long comparative structures ("whereas modern adults drive...") and reason clauses are managed accurately across the whole essay.
The one fix to reach Band 7
Band 6 answers to two-part questions often give four thin ideas instead of two developed ones. The single change is depth over breadth: pick one main cause and one main family of solutions, and spend your words showing how they connect.
Now check your own answer.
Paste your own attempt at this prompt and Examinerly names the single criterion keeping you below your target band, and shows the sentence-level fix. We never inflate your band.
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