IELTS Essay Bank · Task 2 Academic · Opinion (agree/disagree)
Taxing Unhealthy Food: Band 7 Sample Essay
319 words · Topic: Health, Government ·
The question
Rates of obesity and diet-related illness have risen sharply in many countries. Some argue that governments should place a heavy tax on unhealthy food and drinks.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this approach?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.
Band 7 sample essay
Highlighted = useful vocabularyIn many countries, obesity and illnesses such as type 2 diabetes have become a major burden on health services, and some believe the solution is to tax unhealthy food and drinks heavily. I partly agree with this idea: a tax on sugary drinks can be effective, but a heavy tax on all unhealthy food would be unfair and insufficient.
There are clear reasons to support a tax on sugary drinks. Price is one of the main factors that influence what people buy, especially young people and families on tight budgets, so making fizzy drinks more expensive is likely to reduce consumption. Moreover, such taxes can change the behaviour of manufacturers as well as consumers. When the UK introduced a levy on soft drinks in 2018, many companies reduced the sugar in their products to avoid paying it, which means people consumed less sugar without changing their habits. The money raised can also be used to fund health campaigns.
However, a heavy tax on all unhealthy food is more problematic. Firstly, it is difficult to define what "unhealthy" means, since foods like cheese or red meat are nutritious in small amounts but harmfull in excess. Secondly, and more importantly, such taxes hit the poorest hardest. Low-income families spend a bigger share of their income on food, and cheap processed meals are often the only option for parents who works long hours. Making these foods more expensive without making healthy food more affordable would simply punish these families.
For this reason, taxation should be only one part of a wider strategy. Governments should use the revenue to subsidise fresh fruit and vegetables and teach cooking and nutrition at school, so that people have both the knowledge and the means to eat more healthily.
In conclusion, a targeted tax on sugary drinks is a sensible measure, but a heavy tax on all unhealthy food would place an unfair burden on poorer households.
Word count: 319
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Why this is Band 7: criterion by criterion
Task Response
Band 7The essay presents a clear, qualified position — partial agreement, supporting a tax on sugary drinks but not a heavy tax on all unhealthy food — and maintains it consistently. Main ideas are extended and supported: the UK soft drinks levy illustrates how a tax can change manufacturers' behaviour, and the argument about low-income families is explained with a clear cause and effect. The fourth paragraph adds a constructive alternative. Some support is a little general, however: the claim that price is "one of the main factors" is asserted without explanation, and the essay does not consider whether a tax on drinks alone would make a noticeable difference to obesity. This keeps Task Response at Band 7.
Coherence and Cohesion
Band 7The essay is logically organised, with the writer's two-sided view reflected in the paragraph structure: arguments for a drinks tax, arguments against a broad food tax, then an alternative. A range of cohesive devices is used, including "such taxes", "For this reason" and "Secondly, and more importantly", which shows the relative weight of ideas. However, the sequence "Moreover", "However", "Firstly", "Secondly" is somewhat mechanical, and "Firstly" and "Secondly" inside a body paragraph make the structure feel signposted. Progression is clear throughout, so Band 7 is appropriate.
Lexical Resource
Band 7There is a sufficient range of vocabulary for flexibility and precision, with good topic collocations such as "a major burden on health services", "families on tight budgets", "hit the poorest hardest" and "subsidise fresh fruit and vegetables". The writer shows awareness of style and collocation in phrases like "place an unfair burden" and "a wider strategy". There is one spelling error — "harmfull" should be harmful — and "a bigger share" is slightly informal where a larger proportion would be more precise. These occasional slips are consistent with Band 7.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Band 7A variety of complex structures is used with good control, including a colon to introduce the writer's position, a time clause ("When the UK introduced a levy…"), gerund subjects ("Making these foods more expensive…") and a purpose clause ("so that people have both the knowledge and the means…"). Most sentences are error-free. There are a few errors: an agreement slip in "parents who works long hours" (work) and a tense inconsistency in "which means people consumed less sugar" (which meant). These do not affect communication, so Band 7 is appropriate.
Useful vocabulary and collocations
- a tax on sugary drinks
- a precise way to name the policy; you may also see sugar tax or soft drinks levy.
- fund health campaigns
- pay for public information programmes; fund is a useful verb for government revenue.
- hit the poorest hardest
- affect people with the least money most severely; a natural idiom for arguments about fairness.
- eat more healthily
- correct adverb form; avoid the common error eat more healthy.
- place an unfair burden
- impose a cost that is not fair; strong collocation for evaluating policies.
How this essay could reach Band 8
- 1Weigh the evidence rather than just presenting it — for example, discuss whether a drinks tax alone can reduce obesity, or whether people simply switch to other sugary products.
- 2Replace "Firstly" and "Secondly" inside the third paragraph with linking that grows out of the ideas themselves ("A more fundamental problem is that…"), so the cohesion feels less mechanical.
- 3Eliminate the remaining slips (parents who work, which meant, harmful); at Band 8 the majority of sentences must be completely error-free.
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