Vegetarianism | Writing for Academic IELTS PDF Download

This is a model vegetarianism essay. As I always stress, you should read the question very carefully before you answer it to make sure you are writing about the right thing.

Take a look at the question:
Q. Every one of us should become a vegetarian because eating meat can cause serious health problems. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Hint:
Staying on topic

• If you rush to start writing and don't analyse the question and brainstorm some ideas you may include the wrong information.
• There are religious or moral arguments for not eating meat, but if you discuss those you will be going off topic. 
• This question is specifically about the health problems connected to eating meat.

Knowing about the topic

• And don't get worried that you do not know much about diet and health.
• Remember, you are being judged on your English ability and your ability to construct an argument in a coherent way, not to be an expert in the subject matter.

Organisation

• In this vegetarianism essay, the candidate disagrees with the statement, and is thus arguing that everyone does not need to be a vegetarian.
• The essay has been organised in the following way:
  • Body 1: Health issues connected with eating meat (i.e. arguments in support of being a vegetarian
  • Body 2: Advantages of eating meat

Sample Answer

• Vegetarianism is becoming more and more popular for many people, particularly because of the harm that some people believe meat can cause to the body. However, I strongly believe that it is not necessary for everybody to be a vegetarian.
• Vegetarians believe that meat is unhealthy because of the diseases it has been connected with. There has been much research to suggest that red meat is particularly bad, for example, and that consumption should be limited to eating it just a few times a week to avoid such things as cancer. Meats can also be high in saturated fats so they have been linked to health problems such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
• However, there are strong arguments for eating meat. The first reason is that as humans we are designed to eat meat, which suggests it is not unhealthy, and we have been eating meat for thousands of years. For example, cavemen made hunting implements so that they could kill animals and eat their meat. Secondly, meat is a rich source of protein which helps to build muscles and bones. Vegetarians often have to take supplements to get all the essential vitamins and minerals. Finally, it may be the case that too much meat is harmful, but we can easily limit the amount we have without having to cut it out of our diet completely.
• To sum up, I do not agree that everyone should turn to a vegetarian diet. Although the overconsumption of meat could possibly be unhealthy, a balanced diet of meat and vegetables should result in a healthy body.