Should Fast Food Be Taxed to Reduce Obesity?
A complete IELTS Academic Writing Task 2 question with a model answer of 307 words, plus a breakdown of the sentence structures, cohesive devices and vocabulary that answer uses. Write your own version first, then compare.
Written by Manish Sharma · CELTA and DELTA qualified · 8 years teaching IELTS
Score my answer to this questionThe question
You have 40 minutes. Write at least 250 words.
Many people argue that fast food should be taxed in order to reduce obesity rates. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Write at least 250 words.
How to approach it
- 01Express the extent of your agreement clearly (strongly agree, largely agree, partly agree)
- 02Use real-world evidence — Mexican sugar tax, UK sugar levy — to ground your argument
- 03Acknowledge counter-arguments (regressivity, substitution) to demonstrate balanced thinking
- 04Propose conditions or design features rather than absolute support or opposition
- 05Use precise topic vocabulary: 'behavioural lever', 'regressive', 'ring-fenced', 'reformulation'
- 06End with a conditional conclusion that ties back to your nuanced position
Model answer
307 words in 5 paragraphs. Read it after you have written your own, not before: the point of a model answer is to show you what you missed, and you cannot miss anything you have not attempted.
Rising obesity rates have prompted governments worldwide to consider unconventional policy tools, including special taxes on fast food. While I recognise that taxation alone cannot solve a complex public health crisis, I largely agree that a well-designed fast food tax should form part of any serious anti-obesity strategy.
The strongest argument for a fast food tax is its proven effectiveness as a behavioural lever. When sugary drinks were taxed in Mexico and the United Kingdom, sales fell measurably and reformulation by manufacturers accelerated. There is little reason to believe a tax on high-calorie burgers, fried chicken or oversized meal deals would behave differently. By raising prices on the least healthy options, governments give consumers — particularly price-sensitive teenagers and low-income families — a clear nudge towards better alternatives.
A second compelling reason is fairness in cost allocation. Obesity-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease cost public healthcare systems billions of pounds annually. It is reasonable for the producers and consumers of products that contribute to these illnesses to bear part of that cost, just as smokers do through tobacco duty. The revenue raised could be ring-fenced for school meals, sports facilities or subsidies on fruit and vegetables, amplifying the public health benefit.
That said, critics raise legitimate concerns. A blanket fast food tax is inherently regressive, hitting poorer households hardest, and may be circumvented by consumers who simply switch to equally unhealthy supermarket alternatives. The tax must therefore be carefully designed — targeting nutritional content rather than venue, paired with subsidies for healthier options, and accompanied by education and urban planning that improves access to fresh food.
In conclusion, I agree that fast food should be taxed, provided the policy is precisely targeted, paired with supportive measures and reinvested in public health. Tax is not a silver bullet, but it is a credible part of the solution.
What this answer actually does
Measured from the text above, and compared against the other 69 answers of the same type in this library. These are counts, not band scores: they describe what the writing does, which is the part you can copy.
16 more than the median answer for this task type
6 words at the shortest, 32 at the longest
2 fewer than the median answer for this task type
carry a subordinate or relative clause
Sentence rhythm
Sentences average 20.5 words and vary by 7.1 words either side of that, running from 6 words to 32. Variation is the point. Grammatical Range and Accuracy rewards a mix of simple and complex sentences, and an answer where every sentence is the same length reads as flat no matter how correct it is. 6 of the 15 sentences here carry a subordinate or relative clause.
The cohesive devices it uses
4 in total, spread across 4 different functions. Range matters more than count: an answer that opens every paragraph with a sequencer signals its structure but never signals a relationship between ideas, and Coherence and Cohesion is marked on both.
while
therefore
such as
in conclusion
Vocabulary and repetition
Ignoring grammar words, 82 per cent of the content words in this answer are distinct, and 74 per cent appear exactly once. Lexical Resource is where repetition costs the most marks, and the usual cause is not a small vocabulary but reaching for the same noun every time the topic is named.
The longest run of words copied straight from the question is 6 words. Examiners discount wording lifted from the question, so a short run here is the right outcome: the answer restates the topic in its own words rather than borrowing the question's.
What you are marked on
All four criteria carry equal weight, and your Writing band is their average rounded to the nearest half band.
Task Response
State the extent of agreement and develop a balanced argument
Coherence & Cohesion
Clear progression of ideas with effective cohesion
Lexical Resource
Sophisticated topic vocabulary on health, economics and policy
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
Wide range of structures including conditionals and concessive clauses
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