IELTS Task 2 Essay: Sugary Drinks

More and more people today are drinking sugar-based drinks.

What are the reasons for this?

What are the solutions?

Analysis

1. Health experts have warned against a rise in addictions to sugary drinks and the concomitant risks. 2. In my opinion, this is due to both advertising and encroachment in developing markets and the solution is to enact various restrictions.

1. For your first sentence, paraphrase the overall topic of the essay.
2. Answer the two questions clearly and you’ll get a good mark for task achievement.

1. Over-consumption of sugary drinks can be directly attributed to advertising and opening up vulnerable new markets. 2. In much of the developed world, people are becoming more health conscious and while consumption may increase as a total number, it is more likely to decline as a proportion. 3. This is not the case in the developing world in countries such as Vietnam. 4. A burgeoning middle-class in the last two decades coupled with unregulated ad campaigns from Pepsi and Coca Cola have led to a pandemic of sugary drinks in the market. 5. Consumers now have more disposable income and are generally less educated about the long-term effects of sugar while companies are eager to exploit these facts to fatten their bottom line.

1. Write a topic sentence with a clear, single main idea. This question asks for reasons so I give two related reasons so that I can develop them together and get full marks for task achievement.
2. Begin to develop your main ideas with specific details/examples.
3. The more specfiic the better – try to use a real country.
4. Continue with that example.
5. Draw out the result of your example and conclude the paragraph.

1. The only proven solutions for any public health crisis are regulation. 2. One of the most famously successful laws in this area was the ban on large sugary drinks in New York City. 3. It prohibited only the largest sizes but had a large impact before it was ultimately repealed due to corporate lobbying. 4. In its place, many states including New York and California enacted taxes that have driven up the cost of sugar-heavy drinks. 5. The result is that fewer people are willing to take on the associated health risks given the higher prices. 6. If federal governments tax these drinks similarly to cigarettes, then their popularity will decline even faster.

1. Write another topic sentence. Again I give two solutions but they are related so that I can develop them fully.
2. Use a specific example of a city/country/law (make it up if you have to).
3. Describe the example in detail and use strong vocabulary.
4. Continue developing the same example.
5. State the result to make your example even stronger.
6. Here I compare it to taxes on cigarettes (this would have also been a good way to start the paragraph).

1. In conclusion, the ubiquity of sugary drinks is down to exploitation of developing nations and can be curbed through thoughtful regulation. 2. Governments that take firm, unpopular steps towards these reforms will later save money in medical care.

1. Repeat your answer to the questions.
2. Add in an extra detail/final thought.