Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-09

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)

Many manufactured food and drinks products contain high sugar, which causes many health problems while other think that sugary products should be made more expensive to encourage people to consume less sugar. I strongly agree with this rising the price of sugar will alter the people to consume. High sugary products is affecting the body such as obesity and diabetes.

To commence with, one of the reason why increasing prices is effective is that it reduces the affordability of unhealthy options. Most consumers, especially teenagers are middle-class people are highly price sensitive. When the cost of sugary products (soft drinks and snacks) rises significantly, these individuals will naturally seek more economical, healthier substitutes like water and fresh juices. For instance, after mexico introduced a sugar tax on 2014, the purchase of sugary tax beverages declined by nearly ten percent within two years. Hence, it alter the effect of sugary products on human body.

However, making sugary products is highly expensive. Whereas, without imposing excessive tax on sugar products the prizes will automatically low when people are more aware about their health problems. By educating students in their school and tell them their worst affect because teenagers are consumed these products more then elderly person. Advertisement is on TV and social media platforms also great option to reduce their impacts. For example, The UK’s Soft Drinks Industry Levy is an excellent example of this, as it successfully motivated major beverage brands to cut sugar levels by almost thirty percent before the tax was even implemented.

To sum up, increasing prizes of sugary products will not a significant solution of this problem this will only apply on poor or middle-class people because they are prize sensitive this will not affect wealthy person so, it is important to increase advertising about health issues due to sugary products.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position, though the argument is somewhat contradictory. You initially state you 'strongly agree' with the tax, but later argue that increasing prices is not a significant solution. This inconsistency weakens the overall task response. While you provide relevant examples like the Mexican sugar tax and the UK’s Soft Drinks Industry Levy, the development of these ideas is sometimes hindered by unclear phrasing. To improve, ensure your position remains consistent throughout the essay and that your supporting arguments directly reinforce your thesis rather than undermining it.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'For instance', and 'To sum up'. However, the flow is occasionally disrupted by awkward transitions and mechanical phrasing. For example, the sentence 'Hence, it alter the effect of sugary products on human body' lacks a clear logical connection to the previous point. Additionally, some referencing is imprecise, making it difficult to follow the progression of your argument. Improving the variety and accuracy of your linking words will help create a smoother, more professional flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'economical', 'substitutes', and 'implemented'. However, there are frequent errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'prizes' instead of 'prices', 'worst affect' instead of 'worst effects', and 'teenagers are consumed' instead of 'teenagers consume'. These errors occasionally impede the reader's understanding. To reach a higher band, focus on using vocabulary more precisely and pay closer attention to word forms and common collocations in academic English.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('High sugary products is affecting'), incorrect verb forms ('it alter the effect'), and missing articles. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, specifically ensuring that subjects and verbs agree and that verb tenses are used consistently.

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.