Writing Task 2: Two-Part (Direct) Question Essay: Question 3
Syllabus W.task2
In many countries, the proportion of meals eaten alone, rather than with family, friends or colleagues, has risen substantially over the past two decades, even among people who share a home with others.
Why is this happening? Is it a positive or negative development?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.
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Worked solution
Examiner notes: why this is a band 9 response
Task Response
The introduction paraphrases the trend precisely and previews both answers: the reasons (staggered schedules and technology) and a clear opinion (“a distinctly negative one”). The first body paragraph fully answers the “why” question with a developed cause and a concrete example, Corvend Logistics’ five overlapping shift patterns. The second body paragraph fully answers the opinion question with an explicit stance and a distinct example, the Whitlock family’s loss of shared dinners, so the two answers do not overlap or repeat the same supporting detail.
Coherence & Cohesion
Topic sentences flag which question is under discussion (“The principal driver is…”, “I regard this shift as…”), and “This effect is compounded by” cleanly adds a second cause without restarting the paragraph. Reference chains such as “this shift” and “the loss of connection” tie later sentences back to points already established.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is precise and topic-appropriate: “fragmentation of working hours”, “rostered across”, “a comfortable default”, “mindful eating”. Near-synonyms avoid repeating “alone” (e.g. “solitary eating”, “eat dinner separately”), and collocations are accurate (“protected moments for conversation”, “marked decline in everyday conversation”).
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
The response shows confident control of complex structures: a colon introducing an explained cause, a non-defining appositive (“A neighbour of mine, the Whitlock family, told me…”), and a passive construction (“is also associated with faster, less mindful eating”). There are no errors of tense, agreement or word form anywhere in the response.
Common pitfalls specific to this task
See commonMistakes above: the most damaging is developing the reasons for solitary eating in detail while leaving the “positive or negative” opinion vague or unstated. A band 9 two-part response must give each question its own clear, fully developed answer.