Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-04

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 5.5)

Nowadays, the consumption of processed food is increased more than ever before, which results in serious health problems. Some people say that products rich in sugar should be expensive to lower their usage. I strongly agree with this opinion, and I will support my point with examples.

Some people suggest that sugary products should be made expensive as they are detrimental for health, and cause obesity which leads to many diseases. Increase in price of such products will discourage individuals to buy those items, and its use could be controlled to a greater extent. For instance, only upper class people can afford to purchase luxurious products like branded chocolates, coffee, and snacks.

Others believe that its individuals' personal choice and eating habits that are responsible for higher consumption of sugar containing unhealthy products. People who are concerned for their health do not prefer to eat unhealthy food, no matter how cheap it is. For example, many film stars and athletes are able to buy expensive unhealthy food products, but they consider to go for healthy options.

In my opinion, although food choices depends on people's will, making it expensive will result in a positive development. In many countries, majority of the population is middle or lower class, while a small proportion of people are upper and elite class. By making the sugar containing products expensive, most of the people would not be able to purchase it. Therefore, state officials should consider this option to minimize the risk of disorders like obesity and diabetes.

In conclusion, increase in the cost of manufactured food and drinks that contain high level of sugar will result in decrease in their target market.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. You have presented a logical argument for why price increases could reduce consumption. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the second paragraph mentions that price increases would discourage buyers, but it lacks a deeper explanation of the economic mechanism or the potential counter-arguments regarding the necessity of these foods for low-income families. While the position is clear, the supporting arguments could be more thoroughly extended to reach a higher band. The conclusion is a bit brief and merely restates the main point without summarizing the key arguments.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme. You use some cohesive devices such as 'For instance', 'Others believe', and 'In my opinion', which help the flow of ideas. However, the transition between the second and third paragraphs is slightly abrupt. Additionally, some cohesive devices are used in a somewhat mechanical way. To improve, try to use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that the relationship between sentences is more fluid, particularly when transitioning between opposing viewpoints.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'detrimental', 'consumption', and 'disorders'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of slightly unnatural collocations or word choices, such as 'its individuals' personal choice' (should be 'it is individuals' personal choice') and 'consider to go for' (should be 'choose to opt for'). There is also some repetition of basic vocabulary like 'expensive' and 'products'. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise synonyms and idiomatic expressions related to health and economics.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. For example, 'the consumption of processed food is increased' (should be 'has increased'), 'food choices depends' (should be 'depend'), and 'sugar containing unhealthy products' (needs hyphens: 'sugar-containing'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but there are minor errors in subject-verb agreement and article usage. The errors do not impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score in this category.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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