This is an IELTS writing task 2 sample answer essay on the topic of restaurants from the real IELTS exam.
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IELTS Essay: Restaurants & Food Waste
In many countries, people throw away a lot of food from restaurants and shops.
Why do you think people waste food in this way?
What can be done to reduce the amount of food thrown away?
Food waste is a growing global problem. It happens because people often buy more than they need and the best countermeasure would be to cut down on portion sizes.
Food waste is mainly a result of individuals ordering or purchasing too much food. Many people order extra when dining out to ensure they are not hungry at the end of the meal. Humans are a planning and predicting animal and this is a natural instinct. The same drive partly explains purchasing too much food at the supermarket but there are other possible sources. For example, ambitious shoppers intending to cook a variety of dishes during the week, may buy a lot of healthy fruits and vegetables. If they are busy or cannot summon the initiative, the produce will spoil within a few days and they will have to throw it out and make other plans.
The solution is to reduce the amount of food people eat. A reinforcing cycle of over-eating by obese consumers can lead to greater food waste. People order or buy more than they need and stuff themselves at every meal. Over time, this becomes an ingrained habit and they purchase increasingly greater quantities of food, some of which will naturally go bad or be thrown out if they cannot finish it. A good counter-example to this practice would be in France, which is famed for smaller portion sizes. Food waste is dramatically lower in France simply because people eat modest meals and are therefore more likely to eat all their food. This could be replicated in other nations if governments reformed school meals and took other key steps.
In conclusion, food waste has deep psychological roots and the best solution is for individuals to reduce the size of their average meal. A shift like this will require a concerted effort from both ordinary citizens and health officials.
Analysis
1. Food waste is a growing global problem. 2. It happens because people often buy more than they need and the best countermeasure would be to cut down on portion sizes.
- Paraphrase the overall essay topic.
- Answer both of the questions directly. Read more about introductions here.
1. Food waste is mainly a result of individuals ordering or purchasing too much food. 2. Many people order extra when dining out to ensure they are not hungry at the end of the meal. 3. Humans are a planning and predicting animal and this is a natural instinct. 4. The same drive partly explains purchasing too much food at the supermarket but there are other possible sources. 5. For example, ambitious shoppers intending to cook a variety of dishes during the week, may buy a lot of healthy fruits and vegetables. 6. If they are busy or cannot summon the initiative, the produce will spoil within a few days and they will have to throw it out and make other plans.
- Write a clear topic sentence with the main idea at the end.
- Explain or develop your main idea.
- Continue to explain and vary your long and short sentences.
- Keep developing it more deeply.
- Use examples to support your ideas.
- Conclude with the fully results of the example.
1. The solution is to reduce the amount of food people eat. 2. A reinforcing cycle of over-eating by obese consumers can lead to greater food waste. 3. People order or buy more than they need and stuff themselves at every meal. 4. Over time, this becomes an ingrained habit and they purchase increasingly greater quantities of food, some of which will naturally go bad or be thrown out if they cannot finish it. 5. A good counter-example to this practice would be in France, which is famed for smaller portion sizes. 6. Food waste is dramatically lower in France simply because people eat modest meals and are therefore more likely to eat all their food. 7. This could be replicated in other nations if governments reformed school meals and took other key steps.
- Answer the other question directly with a new main idea.
- Begin your solution.
- Here I give background for my solution.
- I give further background here.
- Here I use an example to show a possible solution.
- Develop the example.
- Conclude with a strong statement.
1. In conclusion, food waste has deep psychological roots and the best solution is for individuals to reduce the size of their average meal. 2. A shift like this will require a concerted effort from both ordinary citizens and health officials.
- Repeat your answers to both questions.
- Add a final thought – read more about conclusions here.
Vocabulary
What do the words in bold below mean?
Food waste is a growing global problem. It happens because people often buy more than they need and the best countermeasure would be to cut down on portion sizes.
Food waste is mainly a result of individuals ordering or purchasing too much food. Many people order extra when dining out to ensure they are not hungry at the end of the meal. Humans are a planning and predicting animal and this is a natural instinct. The same drive partly explains purchasing too much food at the supermarket but there are other possible sources. For example, ambitious shoppers intending to cook a variety of dishes during the week, may buy a lot of healthy fruits and vegetables. If they are busy or cannot summon the initiative, the produce will spoil within a few days and they will have to throw it out and make other plans.
The solution is to reduce the amount of food people eat. A reinforcing cycle of over-eating by obese consumers can lead to greater food waste. People order or buy more than they need and stuff themselves at every meal. Over time, this becomes an ingrained habit and they purchase increasingly greater quantities of food, some of which will naturally go bad or be thrown out if they cannot finish it. A good counter-example to this practice would be in France, which is famed for smaller portion sizes. Food waste is dramatically lower in France simply because people eat modest meals and are therefore more likely to eat all their food. This could be replicated in other nations if governments reformed school meals and took other key steps.
In conclusion, food waste has deep psychological roots and the best solution is for individuals to reduce the size of their average meal. A shift like this will require a concerted effort from both ordinary citizens and health officials.
Answers
growing global problem increasing issue around the world
countermeasure solution
cut down on portion sizes eat less food
mainly mostly
ensure make sure
natural instinct predisposed towards
drive partly explains desire somewhat illustrates
ambitious shoppers intending people buying more than they can eat/prepare wanting to
summon the initiative work up the effort to
produce fruit and veggies
spoil go bad
throw it out put in the trash
make other plans do something else
reinforcing cycle feedback loop
over-eating eating too much
obese consumers fat people
stuff themselves eat too much
over time gradually
ingrained habit accustomed to it
increasingly greater quantities of food larger and larger portion sizes
naturally go bad inevitably spoil
thrown out put in the trash
finish eat all
counter-example example of the opposite case
practice behaviour
smaller portion sizes less food per meal
dramatically lower much less
modest smaller
replicated repeated
reformed school meals changed what kids eat at school
took other key steps did other things
deep psychological roots part of being human
average meal normal meal
shift change
concerted effort dedicated attempt
ordinary citizens normal people
health officials those in charge of public health
Pronunciation
ˈgrəʊɪŋ ˈgləʊbəl ˈprɒbləm
ˈkaʊntəˌmɛʒə
kʌt daʊn ɒn ˈpɔːʃən ˈsaɪzɪz
ˈmeɪnli
ɪnˈʃʊə
ˈnæʧrəl ˈɪnstɪŋkt
draɪv ˈpɑːtli ɪksˈpleɪnz
æmˈbɪʃəs ˈʃɒpəz ɪnˈtɛndɪŋ
ˈsʌmən ði ɪˈnɪʃɪətɪv
ˈprɒdjuːs
spɔːɪl
θrəʊ ɪt aʊt
meɪk ˈʌðə plænz
ˌriːɪnˈfɔːsɪŋ ˈsaɪkl
ˈəʊvər-ˈiːtɪŋ
əʊˈbiːs kənˈsjuːməz
stʌf ðəmˈsɛlvz
ˈəʊvə taɪm
ɪnˈgreɪnd ˈhæbɪt
ɪnˈkriːsɪŋli ˈgreɪtə ˈkwɒntɪtiz ɒv fuːd
ˈnæʧrəli gəʊ bæd
θrəʊn aʊt
ˈfɪnɪʃ
ˈkaʊntər-ɪgˈzɑːmpl
ˈpræktɪs
ˈsmɔːlə ˈpɔːʃən ˈsaɪzɪz
drəˈmætɪk(ə)li ˈləʊə
ˈmɒdɪst
ˈrɛplɪkeɪtɪd
rɪˈfɔːmd skuːl miːlz
tʊk ˈʌðə kiː stɛps
diːp ˌsaɪkəˈlɒʤɪkəl ruːts
ˈævərɪʤ miːl
ʃɪft
kənˈsɜːtɪd ˈɛfət
ˈɔːdnri ˈsɪtɪznz
hɛlθ əˈfɪʃəlz
Vocabulary Practice
Remember and fill in the blanks:
Food waste is a g______________________m. It happens because people often buy more than they need and the best c____________________e would be to c____________________________s.
Food waste is m__________y a result of individuals ordering or purchasing too much food. Many people order extra when dining out to e_______e they are not hungry at the end of the meal. Humans are a planning and predicting animal and this is a n____________________t. The same d_________________________s purchasing too much food at the supermarket but there are other possible sources. For example, a______________________________g to cook a variety of dishes during the week, may buy a lot of healthy fruits and vegetables. If they are busy or cannot s_________________________e, the p____________e will s______l within a few days and they will have to t_______________t and m_________________s.
The solution is to reduce the amount of food people eat. A r_________________e of o______________g by o_________________s can lead to greater food waste. People order or buy more than they need and s_______________________s at every meal. O___________e, this becomes an i____________________t and they purchase i__________________________________d, some of which will n________________d or be t______________t if they cannot f_________h it. A good c__________________e to this p___________e would be in France, which is famed for s__________________________s. Food waste is d______________________r in France simply because people eat m_________t meals and are therefore more likely to eat all their food. This could be r____________d in other nations if governments r____________________s and t______________________s.
In conclusion, food waste has d_________________________s and the best solution is for individuals to reduce the size of their a_________________l. A s______t like this will require a c_________________t from both o__________________s and h__________________s.
Listening Practice
Learn more about food waste below:
Reading Practice
Learn about what your city can do below:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/11/climate/nyt-climate-newsletter-food-waste.html
Speaking Practice
Answer the following questions from the real IELTS speaking exam:
Food
- Do people in your country often eat together?
- Why are family meals less common today?
- Is this a positive or negative development?
- Are there any holidays in your country centred around food?
- Are international foods a threat to the traditional culture of your country?
Writing Practice
Write about the following related topic and then check with my sample answer:
Some believe that people will purchase a product based on their needs and advertising is not needed.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
in the question it asked what do you think? are we not supposed to give an opinion about the first question?
Yes, but you don’t always have to phrase it with ‘In my opinion’ – just answering the question directly is enough, Kazi.
Hi, please provide a band for below essay:
Visiting restaurants and ordering food online have become quite prevalent these days. This trend, however, has resulted in significant wastage of food. This essay will explore the possible reasons and provide solutions to combat this problem.
There is a plethora of reasons for significant amounts of food wastage. The primary cause is the availability of food items from food joints, at lowered prices. In other words, customers order more food that they can consume, simply because it is available at cheaper rates. Consequently, they end up disposing of excessive, leftover food. Secondly, with the availability of online food delivery websites and applications, like Swiggy and Zomato, people order food items without being mindful of their needs. As a result, more food is available, simply to be thrown away the next day.
To counter the issue of restaurant food wastage, a multitude of steps can be taken. Various online initiatives are available; whereby, people can ask volunteers from organizations that take away leftover food, at no cost to the consumer, and provide it to the needy people. This strategy has proven to be immensely effective in reducing food wastage in the past few years. Furthermore, customers should be mindful and attentive while ordering food. In other words, ordering food should be based on the appetite of a person, and not merely on food prices. For instance, if food delivery applications or physical restaurants, have awareness sections that ask a person to order mindfully, it will serve as a reminder to the person, to only order food that they are likely to fully consume. Optimal application of these measures can subsequently alleviate food wastage problem.
To conclude, low food prices and ordering food online or otherwise, in a non-attentive manner are the two main causes of food wastage. Few steps can be taken to curb this issue, including effective usage of websites to allow people to take away leftover food items, and websites can be customized to prompt a person to only order as much as they really need.
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