Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-05

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)

In the present time food markets are expanding rapidly and verity of food products are now easily available to the consumers. But some edible goods contains excessive amount of sugar which may cause serious health problems such as diabetes. Therefore there is an argument that sugary products should be produce more expensive in order to foster individuals to consume less sugar. However i disagree with the given statement and reasons behind my reasoning is articulated in the following paragraphs along with appropriate examples and conclusion at the last.

To commence with. excessive sugar consumption may could be dangerous for person but making its production expensive is not ideal strategy because some nations entire economy and labors mostly relay on sugar products production and around 43 billion $ of money circulation comes from this segment. If authorities assign more taxes to these sugar products , the global economy would have to face negative ramifications. For instance, if government introduce law on sugar producers , then prices of sugar dependent products will be skyrocket and people who relying on it may have to face job loss.

To add more , sugar it self must not be consider as a bad thing because sugar provides vital proteins such as glucose which helps human to stay energetic. Secondly, there are more appropriate way to control excessive sugar consumption. For instance, rather than increasing price, producers should reduce the amount of sugar in the goods or they should find healthy alternative to sugar such as jaggery which is least harmful.

In conclusion, making sugar products expensive might be not reliable solution as it worsens country's economy and people whose life style has depend on it. Therefore society should consider more healthy alternative.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. The arguments are relevant, focusing on economic impact and alternative solutions. However, the development is somewhat limited; for instance, the claim that sugar provides 'vital proteins' is factually incorrect (sugar is a carbohydrate), which weakens the logical support for your argument. While the main points are clear, they could be extended with more nuanced analysis to reach a higher band. The conclusion effectively summarizes your stance, but the overall development remains at a basic level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use some cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'To add more', and 'In conclusion' to signal the structure. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly unnatural, such as the fragment 'To commence with.' followed by a period. Additionally, the flow between sentences is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing, such as 'reasons behind my reasoning is articulated'. Improving the variety and precision of your linking words will help the text flow more smoothly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, allowing you to express your ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'ramifications' and 'articulated'. However, there are several instances of word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'verity of food' (variety), 'produce more expensive' (made more expensive), and 'money circulation'. These errors do not impede communication, but they highlight a need for more precise control over word forms and collocations to reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('goods contains', 'sugar it self must not be consider'), incorrect verb forms ('should be produce'), and punctuation errors (the fragment after 'To commence with'). While these errors rarely prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they are frequent enough to limit the score. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring that passive voice constructions are formed correctly.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.