Traditional meals are increasingly being replaced by international fast food in many countries.
A full IELTS Writing Task 2 answer to this question, with a paragraph plan, ideas you can use, and the vocabulary that fits this topic.
The question
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Traditional meals are increasingly being replaced by international fast food in many countries.
Is this a positive or negative change?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
How to read this question
The obvious essay condemns fast food for health and culture. A stronger one asks why the substitution is happening, and the honest answer is time and money rather than taste — which reframes the trend as a symptom of how people now work rather than as a failure of willpower. That also protects you from the moralising tone that weakens most answers on this topic.
Paragraph plan
Introduction — Paraphrase, then give the verdict: negative overall, but caused by working conditions rather than by preference.
Body 1 — What can be said for it — affordability, speed, reliability, and the fact that traditional cooking depended on someone's unpaid labour.
Body 2 — Why negative — nutritional consequences, and the loss of transmitted knowledge, which unlike a recipe cannot be recovered from a book.
Conclusion — Negative, but treat it as a time-and-income problem; moral exhortation has failed everywhere it has been tried.
Model essay
Band 8.5–9.0 model essay
334 words
Traditional meals are increasingly being replaced by international fast food in many countries, a trend visible in nearly every major city worldwide. In my view, this shift is predominantly a negative development, despite offering certain conveniences to busy consumers.
To begin, the rise of fast food does offer genuine convenience for individuals with demanding schedules. To clarify, unlike traditional meals, which often require lengthy preparation and specific ingredients that may not always be readily available, fast food restaurants provide quick, affordable options that accommodate the fast pace of modern urban life. Moreover, the standardised nature of international fast food chains ensures consistent quality and hygiene standards across locations, which can reassure travellers or workers eating away from home. In addition, the affordability of fast food makes it a particularly attractive option for lower-income families managing tight household budgets. Additionally, the sheer availability of fast-food outlets, often open late into the night, appeals to consumers whose irregular schedules leave little time for home cooking. For instance, busy professionals with limited lunch breaks frequently rely on such establishments simply to save time.
However, the broader consequences of this shift are considerably more troubling. This is attributable to the fact that fast food is typically high in saturated fat, sugar and sodium, and its growing dominance has been closely linked to rising rates of obesity and diet-related illness in numerous countries. Moreover, as traditional recipes are practised less frequently within families, valuable culinary knowledge and cultural heritage embedded in local cuisine risk being lost to future generations, who may grow up with little connection to the dishes that once defined their national identity. Furthermore, the aggressive marketing tactics employed by major fast-food chains often overshadow local establishments serving traditional dishes, accelerating their decline. Moreover, children raised primarily on fast food may develop entrenched taste preferences that make it considerably harder for them to adopt healthier eating habits later in life.
To conclude, although fast food offers undeniable convenience for busy consumers, I believe the decline of traditional meals represents a largely negative development, given its serious implications for public health and the erosion of cultural culinary heritage.
Created by a Band 8.5–9.0 IELTS Writing achiever — Premium. Sign up free to read the rest of this essay and unlock every model on the site.
This is a positive or negative development question. The essay above shows you what a strong answer looks like when it is finished. What it cannot show you is how to get there from a blank page in forty minutes.
That is what our Writing Study Library is for: the structure we teach for this exact question type, the paragraph pattern that goes with it, and the sentence openers for each stage — so the essay is planned before you start writing rather than assembled as you go.
Introduction: Paraphrase traditional meals being replaced by fast food and state the opinion that this is predominantly negative despite its convenience.
Body 1: Argue that fast food offers genuine convenience, consistency and affordability for busy or lower-income consumers with little time to cook.
Body 2: Argue that fast food's health effects and the resulting loss of culinary heritage and traditional cooking skills outweigh its convenience.
Conclusion: Restate that despite its convenience, the decline of traditional meals is a largely negative development for health and cultural heritage.
Word or phrase
Meaning
Used in a sentence
standardised
made to conform to a fixed, uniform pattern
the standardised nature of international fast food chains ensures consistent quality and hygiene standards across locations
hygiene standards
official levels of cleanliness required to prevent illness
the standardised nature of international fast food chains ensures consistent quality and hygiene standards across locations
affordability
the quality of being reasonably priced and within reach financially
the affordability of fast food makes it a particularly attractive option for lower-income families managing tight household budgets
saturated fat
a type of dietary fat linked to heart disease when consumed in excess
fast food is typically high in saturated fat, sugar and sodium
diet-related illness
a medical condition caused or worsened by poor eating habits
its growing dominance has been closely linked to rising rates of obesity and diet-related illness in numerous countries
culinary heritage
the traditional cooking practices and dishes passed down within a culture
the erosion of cultural culinary heritage
aggressive marketing
forceful, persistent promotion intended to maximise sales
the aggressive marketing tactics employed by major fast-food chains often overshadow local establishments serving traditional dishes
entrenched
firmly established and difficult to change
children raised primarily on fast food may develop entrenched taste preferences
Created by a Band 8.5–9.0 IELTS Writing achiever — Premium. Sign up free to see the ideas and vocabulary for this topic and unlock every model on the site.
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Common questions
How do I avoid sounding preachy on health or culture topics?
Explain causes instead of assigning blame. Once you show that the behaviour follows from time pressure and prices, the essay reads as analysis rather than as a lecture — and analysis scores better, because it gives the examiner reasoning to assess.
Should I concede something uncomfortable about my own side?
When it is true, yes. Acknowledging that traditional cooking relied on unpaid women's labour makes the argument more credible, not less, and it demonstrates exactly the kind of qualification the Band 8 descriptors describe.
Is it acceptable to say a common policy response does not work?
Yes, provided you say what does. Pointing out that awareness campaigns have failed while price and time changes have succeeded shows evaluation, which is what separates a high Task Response from a competent summary.
