Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-18

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)

Food and drinks that are being produced includes high amount of sugar known for causing health related issues. I disagree that products with sugar should be made more expensive to encourage people to use less sugar because it is a control method which they did not sign up for and how this will affect economy severely.

People above the age of 18 are considered adults and they are aware of the consequences that a product might inflict on their health. Increasing the prices of an item to control diseases is not the right path by a government because it is a control tactic that people did not agree to. Government should instead opt for awareness programs, community support groups. In Pakistan, a game known as PUBG was banned because a child died while playing it, and it caused an uproar leading to removing the ban.

Economy plays a major role in a countries environment and increasing the prices of products may cause harm because people will not be able to afford the sugary items as often as they used to. Consequently, the companies selling that sugary product might decide to take their business where they will be profitable. It will have a huge impact on a nation's economy export and import.

In conclusion, other measures like awareness in schools, colleges, offices, and emphasis on media regarding the products affecting health should be discussed to instill the idea of not using such products so the decision of not using sugary products come from people themselves.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position against the tax. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. The argument regarding the economy is underdeveloped; the claim that companies would leave the country due to price increases lacks specific evidence or logical depth. The example of the PUBG ban in Pakistan is somewhat tangential and not clearly linked to the core argument about sugar taxation. While the position is consistent, the supporting arguments would benefit from more detailed explanation and a stronger connection to the specific issue of public health versus consumer freedom.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Consequently' and 'In conclusion', though some transitions feel a bit mechanical. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the link between the introduction and the body paragraphs could be smoother. Referencing is mostly clear, though the flow between the second paragraph's example and the main argument is slightly disjointed. Overall, the structure is sufficient to guide the reader through the argument without confusion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their opinion clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'instill' and 'consequences', but the range is somewhat limited. Some word choices are slightly imprecise, such as 'control method' or 'countries environment' (which should be 'country's environment'). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning, it lacks the flexibility and precision required for a higher band score. The repetition of 'sugary products' could also be improved with synonyms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'Food and drinks that are being produced includes' (subject-verb agreement error) and 'a countries environment' (missing possessive apostrophe). Additionally, some phrasing is awkward, such as 'the decision of not using sugary products come from people themselves'. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the message, they are frequent enough to indicate a lack of full control over complex structures.

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