Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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 recent decades, the consumption of sugary items has increased because of their low prices and easy availability. Now the sugar is being added in many items which we consume in daily routine and it is silently causing many health problems in our body. Governments should apply more taxes on these goods to reduce their sale. I strongly agree with the notion for some reasons.

Initially, sugary products are now the major factor of obesity and belly fat which is responsible for the deadliest diseases such as diabetes and fatty liver. However, people are still ignoring all these factors and buying the sugary drinks and food in low prices because most of these items are very cheap because of their local production. For example, in South Asian countries, local vendors sale sugary drinks in summer in very low prices so every individual can easily buy those drinks.

Secondly, sugary products are now increasing the anxiety and depression in many individuals because a consumer can not easily avoid himself from sugary products even after any disease and this thing made them depressed. It also increase insulin resistance in our body which ultimately cause many health problems. Governments should also apply taxes on these local vendor's products which can be so much beneficial for the society. For instance, in developed countries, no vendor can sale any product without government approval and tax. Many NGOs in those countries also arrange events to aware their nationals about food safety.

In conclusion, I believe that consumption of sugary items can only be reduced if they will be expensive.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of taxing sugary products. The ideas are relevant, such as the link between sugar, obesity, and healthcare costs. However, the development is somewhat limited. The second body paragraph introduces 'anxiety and depression' as a consequence of sugar consumption, which is a less conventional argument and lacks strong supporting evidence or logical connection to the tax proposal. While the position is clear, the arguments could be extended further with more nuanced analysis of the economic impact or the effectiveness of such policies. Overall, it meets the requirements but remains somewhat superficial in its exploration of the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Initially,' 'Secondly,' and 'In conclusion,' which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'this thing made them depressed' or 'this can be so much beneficial.' Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the internal cohesion within the second paragraph feels a bit disjointed due to the shift from health issues to government regulation of vendors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the student to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'insulin resistance' and 'notion.' However, there are several instances of imprecise word choice or awkward collocations, such as 'sale sugary drinks' (should be 'sell'), 'aware their nationals' (should be 'raise awareness among their citizens'), and 'avoid himself' (should be 'avoid consuming'). These errors do not impede communication, but they highlight a need for more precise control over word forms and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the sugar is being added', 'in very low prices'), subject-verb agreement ('it also increase'), and verb forms ('no vendor can sale'). While these errors are noticeable, they rarely prevent the reader from understanding the intended meaning. To reach a higher band, the student needs to improve control over basic grammar, such as pluralization and preposition usage, and demonstrate more consistent accuracy when attempting complex sentence structures.

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