Band 8.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 8.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-07-25

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Many manufactured food and drink products contain high levels of sugar, which causes many health problems. Sugary products should be made more expensive to encourage people to consume less sugar.

Do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 8.0)

A large number of food and drinking products contain excessive sugar, which leads to many health ailments. Sugar-rich products should be made more expensive to encourage the general public to consume less sugar. I fully agree with this sentiment.

First of all, it is generally agreed upon that sugar is harmful for human wellbeing. Additionally, it causes diseases like diabetes, obesity, and insulin resistance. However, numerous glucose laden food items are available readily in the market, making the health problems worse. Moreover, sugary beverages and processes fast-food disrupt insulin hormone, causing lethargy and inflammation in human body. Furthermore, ingesting most of our nutrition through calorie-dense food leads to a depletion of vitamins and minerals.

Moving further, some people say that a person is responsible for their own food choices. To that, it can be argued that many individuals do not have access to proper nutritional knowledge, especially children. That is why government should step in and tax sugary products, discouraging people to purchase them. In addition, government should also pass policies on making protein-rich alternatives less expensive. Not only would this enhance the diet of public but also prevent the overburdening of the public healthcare infrastructure as less people will get sick. A lot of European nations have passed laws to reduce added sugar amounts in processed foods and are already noticing decline in the sugar related illnesses.

In conclusion, sugar is a cause of numerous diseases and its intake should be monitored and reduced. The governments around the world should levy a tax that makes sugar more costly and encourage people to consume less of it. Not only would it be beneficial for the general populace, but also for the public hospitals, the healthcare workers, and the taxpayers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, clearly stating a position in the introduction and maintaining it throughout. The ideas are relevant, particularly the discussion on government intervention and the economic argument for taxing sugar. The points are extended with logical reasoning, such as the mention of public healthcare infrastructure. To reach a higher band, the student could provide more specific examples or data to support the claims, as the current arguments are somewhat general. However, the response is well-developed and fully answers the question.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the transition between the counter-argument and the author's rebuttal is handled effectively. Cohesive devices such as 'First of all', 'Moreover', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion' are used appropriately to guide the reader. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. The flow is smooth, and the relationship between ideas is clear throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary to discuss the topic with precision. Phrases like 'health ailments', 'glucose laden', 'calorie-dense', and 'overburdening of the public healthcare infrastructure' show an ability to use less common items. There are minor issues with collocation, such as 'drinking products' instead of 'beverages' or 'food and drink products', and 'processes fast-food' (should be 'processed'). However, these errors do not impede communication and the vocabulary is generally well-suited to the academic context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. There is good control over grammar, with most sentences being error-free. Minor slips occur, such as 'government should step in' (needs an article: 'the government') and 'less people will get sick' (should be 'fewer people'). Despite these occasional inaccuracies, the control of complex structures is evident, and the punctuation is generally accurate. The grammatical errors are non-systematic and do not interfere with the clarity of the message.

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