Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-10

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's world, many foods and beverages are made with high proportions of sugary products, which leads to various health problems. It is suggested that increasing the price of those product can prevent people from purchasing them and will help them to have a healthier food habit. I fully agree with this statement and will elaborate this on this essay.

To begin with, it is verified that excessive sugar consumption leads to numerous mental and physical health issues, such as obesity, diabetes and heart diseases. Raising the price of this products can discourage them from buying sugar-containing products. This economic rule can be a solution of the problem and it will help them to follow healthier lifestyle. For example, in Europe taxes on sugary products is higher than in the United States. Which connect with low sugar consumption, equally healthier lifestyle. Also in countries like Japan and Korea sugary products are much expensive and not as much as available as it is in United State. This is the main factor of their longer life expectancy.

Moreover, this initial step has some benefits too. The extra revenue gets from higher taxes could be used to improve the healthcare sector. People can get proper treatment for such problems, costing very little.

Overall, raising the price of sugary product is not the only solution. We should raise awareness of the side effects of sweetened product consumption. Furthermore, we have to be careful about our daily dietary habit. We should limit our sugar usage as much as we can.

Therefore, I strongly support the concept that making sugary product much expensive can reduce the consumption of food and drinks which contain higher level of sugar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have clearly stated your position in the introduction and maintained it throughout the essay. The main ideas, such as the link between price and consumption and the potential for healthcare funding, are relevant. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the examples regarding Europe, Japan, and Korea are asserted without specific evidence or clear explanation of how the price difference directly causes the health outcomes mentioned. To reach a higher band, ensure that your supporting arguments are more thoroughly explained and that your examples are more specific and logically connected to your main points.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. You use some cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Moreover', and 'Therefore' to link your points. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and there are instances where referencing is unclear, such as 'discourage them from buying', where 'them' does not clearly refer to a preceding noun. Improving the variety and natural flow of your linking words would enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'excessive sugar consumption', 'life expectancy', and 'healthcare sector'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'sugary products are much expensive' (should be 'much more expensive') and 'revenue gets from' (should be 'revenue gained from'). While your vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, you need to use a wider range of less common lexical items with more precision to achieve a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with pluralization and articles, such as 'this products' (should be 'these products') and 'in United State' (should be 'in the United States'). Additionally, there are some sentence fragments, such as 'Which connect with low sugar consumption, equally healthier lifestyle.' These errors occur frequently enough to occasionally impede the flow of your writing. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and article usage will help improve your accuracy.

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

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