IELTS Writing Task 2 : Cooking at Home
Cooking at home is a waste of time because there are so many convenient fast food options that make life less stressful.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Many people today feel that cooking food at home has become inessential due to the ubiquity of fast food restaurants. In my opinion, the understandable appeal of fast food does little to undermine the health benefits of preparing your own meals.
Fast food is convenient. This is evidenced through its popularity and is based on how quickly it can be purchased, its price, the fact you do not have to prepare it yourself and how easy it is to clean up afterwards. These incentives combine to entice the average worker, coming home tired after a long day, that some burgers from McDonald’s or a pizza from Domino’s will not only make their lives easier and reduce their stress levels but also help them cope with any personal problems. Given all these motivating factors, it is no surprise that many today have convinced themselves that cooking at home is a waste of time.
Regardless, the above listed reasons do not outweigh the health risks of fast food or the health benefits of home-cooked meals. Fast food has been shown, in numerous replicated studies over decades of research, to be one of the leading contributors to the risk factors for heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. The alternative to fast food is cooking at home. This is not always healthy; it is perfectly possible to prepare an unhealthy meal by oneself. However, home cooks have complete control over the ingredients and are not adding the preservatives or chemicals that are typically found in fast food. They are instead more likely to serve fresh fruits and vegetables and be generally conscious of what goes into their body, thereby improving short and long-term health.
In conclusion, fast food is a naturally attractive time and stress saver that does not imply people should stop cooking at home. The health benefits of home-cooking are crucial and this is unlikely to change in the near future.
VOCABULARY
- inessential not important
- ubiquity very common
- understandable appeal easy to understand why people want it
- undermine doubt
- preparing your own meals cooking at home
- convenient easy and simple
- evidenced supported by
- clean up afterwards do the dishes, etc.
- incentives combine reasons together
- entice attract
- average worker normal person
- not only … but also including both
- reduce their stress levels make life less stressful
- cope deal with
- given all these motivating factors considering these enticements
- no surprise naturally
- convinced themselves make themselves think
- waste of time not a good use of time
- regardless nonetheless
- outweigh stronger than
- numerous replicated studies repeated in different research over and over
- leading contributors main causes
- risk factors what can lead to you getting a condition/disease
- alternative different option
- perfectly possible likely to happen
- home cooks people who cook at home
- complete control total oversight
- ingredients what you put into a dish
- adding the preservatives or chemicals putting in artificial substances
- found in fast food that is in fast food
- instead on the other hand
- serve fresh fruits and vegetables recently bought foods
- generally conscious more or less aware of
- improving short and long-term health feeling better now and in the future
- naturally attractive obviously something people want
- saver keeps
- imply necessarily
- crucial really important
- unlikely to change in the near future probably not going to be different later
