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 Today world, it is true fact that a large number of processed foods and beverages contain excessive sugar, which contributes to serious health issues some argues that sugary products should be restricted or more made more costly to reduce consumption. I agree with this notion because it affects both physical and mental health.

To begin with, supermarkets often place sugary items such as sweets and soft drinks at the Enterance or near the check out counters. This market stratergy encourage individuals to buy these things. for instance, buying deserts can increase the risk of diabetes and obesity if these products sold at higher cost then they would be less likely to buy them frequently which could reduce sugar related illnesses.

On the other hand, rising the coast of sugary products many create difficulties for people with limited financial resources. families with lower income might feel pressured when rise leadin g to frustration and social debate Nevertheless, government could balance this policy by promoting affordable healthy alternatives, such fruits of sugar free drinks so that, people are not into unhealthy choices.

In conclusion, although increasing the price of sugary products may cause financial concerns for some groups, overall benefits for public health are far greater, by discouraging impulse buying and reducing sugar consumption , society can move towareds healhier lifestlyle . Therfore, i reckon that making sugary products more expensive is justified and effective measure.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position, but the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention health issues and the impact of marketing strategies, the arguments could be more thoroughly extended with specific examples or deeper analysis. Furthermore, the response is under the 250-word minimum, which negatively impacts the score as the task is not fully developed. To improve, ensure you provide more detailed explanations for your points and expand on the counter-argument to reach the required length.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices such as 'To begin with,' 'On the other hand,' and 'In conclusion,' which helps the flow. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with punctuation and sentence structure that occasionally disrupt the flow. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that referencing is precise throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but there are several spelling errors, such as 'Enterance,' 'stratergy,' 'deserts' (instead of desserts), 'towareds,' and 'healhier.' These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the score. You have attempted to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'processed foods' and 'financial resources,' but you need to improve your accuracy in spelling and word choice to demonstrate a more sophisticated range of language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('some argues,' 'government could balance'), missing articles, and awkward phrasing ('rising the coast'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While the meaning is generally clear, these persistent errors in basic grammar and sentence construction prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. Focus on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and article usage.

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.