Band 8.5 model answer: opinion (agree or disagree)

A band 8.5 model answer to a real IELTS Writing Task 2 question, with the paragraph plan that fits it. Aim for 250 to 290 words in 40 minutes.

The question

In some countries, food delivery apps have significantly changed the way people eat and how restaurants operate. What are the effects of this trend on society, and do you think these effects are mainly positive or negative?

Your 4-paragraph plan

Introduction (40-50 words). Paraphrase the statement and give your clear opinion in one sentence.
Body paragraph 1 (80-100 words). First reason you hold this view, with one specific example.
Body paragraph 2 (80-100 words). Second reason, or address the strongest point on the other side and explain why your view still holds.
Conclusion (40-50 words). Restate your opinion in fresh words and summarise your two reasons.

The trap in this question type

Examiners reward a clear position held from the first paragraph to the last. Do not sit on the fence, and do not switch sides halfway.

Band 8.5 model answer

318 words, the length a strong candidate produces in the 40 minutes Task 2 allows (the minimum is 250). Written for this exact question in the official format. Read it once for ideas, then write your own before comparing.

Platforms such as Grab in Malaysia or Deliveroo in the United Kingdom have moved eating out from a planned social activity to an on-demand transaction, reshaping both household routines and the restaurant trade. While this shift carries real drawbacks, I believe its overall effect on society is positive, because it has expanded economic opportunity and consumer convenience more than it has eroded social life. The most obvious effect is on restaurants themselves. A small noodle shop in Ho Chi Minh City that once relied on twenty covers a night can now dispatch a hundred orders through an app, reaching customers who would never have walked past its door. This has allowed low-capital food businesses, often run by a single family, to compete with established chains, since delivery platforms absorb the cost of marketing and logistics that a small operator could not otherwise afford. The trade-off is that commissions of around a quarter of each order's value squeeze already thin margins, forcing some restaurants to raise menu prices specifically for delivery customers, a practice increasingly visible in Jakarta and Bangkok. On the consumer side, the change is equally significant but more contested. Office workers in Seoul routinely order lunch to their desks rather than eating with colleagues, a habit that appears to be encouraging more solitary, screen-side dining among younger employees. Critics argue this weakens workplace bonds and encourages poor dietary choices, since fried chicken and bubble tea dominate delivery menus far more than balanced meals. Yet the same convenience has been a genuine lifeline for elderly residents with limited mobility and for parents juggling irregular shifts, groups for whom cooking or travelling to a restaurant was previously a daily obstacle. On balance, the gains in economic access and personal convenience outweigh the losses in communal dining, provided cities regulate commission structures to protect small restaurants. Society has not lost the shared meal so much as relocated it, from the restaurant table to the kitchen table, which is a manageable cultural adjustment rather than a crisis.

Why this answer earns band 8.5

The introduction states 'I believe its overall effect on society is positive' immediately after acknowledging drawbacks, giving Task Response a clearly decided stance rather than a neutral one, even though both sides receive equal space.
'The trade-off is that' works as a paragraph-internal pivot, serving Coherence and Cohesion by turning a positive point toward its cost without starting a new paragraph.
'Yet the same convenience has been' signals a second, contrasting cohesive turn within body paragraph two, showing how one paragraph can hold two opposed examples under one controlling idea.
'commissions of around a quarter of each order's value' shows how to keep a number's texture while phrasing it in words instead of a bare citation-style statistic, serving Lexical Resource safely.
'relocated it, from the restaurant table to the kitchen table' is a controlled parallel structure that closes the essay memorably, serving Grammatical Range through balanced clause structure.

The plan, reusable on any question of this type

Introduction (40-45 words): name two real delivery platforms in two named countries, then state a decided position on their net effect on society.
Body 1 (95-100 words): trace one concrete small-business example gaining reach through the app, then pivot with 'the trade-off is' to the commission-fee cost restaurants absorb.
Body 2 (100-105 words): contrast one group whose social habits worsen (e.g. desk-lunching office workers) against one group who gains real access (e.g. elderly or shift-working parents), joined by a 'yet' pivot.
Conclusion (40-45 words): weigh the two effects explicitly with 'on balance', attach one practical condition, and close with an image that reframes the change rather than alarms about it.

Phrases worth learning

has expanded economic opportunity	introducing a positive social or economic effect in an effects essay
absorb the cost of marketing and logistics	explaining a business advantage with precise economic language
the trade-off is that	pivoting from a benefit to its cost within the same paragraph
yet the same convenience has been a genuine lifeline for	contrasting a criticised effect with a sympathetic counter-example
on balance	signalling a weighted conclusion after presenting two sides

The company names, cities and figures are plausible invented details meant to demonstrate how texture is built into an argument, not verified facts, and phrases like 'linked by public health researchers' should be avoided since inventing a named authority or study is a riskier move than a rounded, unattributed figure; under exam pressure, generate detail by picking a real-sounding but ordinary place, profession or rough number rather than fabricating a source, and never present invented statistics as findings from research.