Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-20

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 the modern world, some individuals believe that adds a huge amount of sugar, which impacts multiple health issues. Others believe that an increment in the price, which people can't afford these products and consumption will be decreased significantly. This trend has become increasingly common and has attracted significant public attention. It has become a topic of widespread debate due to its impact on individuals and society. This essay will discuss why I am on the agree side.

To commence, I believe that the government should introduce some policies for sugary products, which containing high amount of sugar. This is because consuming an excessive amount of sugary foods, leads to various diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes. However, increment in price is not a good option, yet it will be beneficial for lower middle class and low-income people to protect themselves from health problems. There are few individuals can afford these products and afterwards, it may suffer from health problems. As a result, it may impact individuals and society in the long term.

Furthermore, another reason is that the higher authority can introduce sugar tax. Sometimes people are encouraged from these policies and few individuals might be consumed less amount of sugary products. Moreover, there should be strict rules for food labelling, and as result, customer will know the exact amount of sugar that product contain and It is up to the customer whether to purchase it or not. In European countries, there will be huge amount of fine, if their product packaging having any misleading information.

In my opinion, some strategies should be implemented by the government to introduce strict laws for these sugary products such as the clear labelling in the front of the products and sugar tax will be implemented for consumers, It is up to the customer whether to purchase it or not.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of the tax. However, the development of ideas is inconsistent. While you mention health issues like diabetes, the argument regarding the price increment is contradictory; you state it is 'not a good option' but then suggest it is beneficial for low-income groups. This lack of clarity in your stance weakens the overall argument. Furthermore, the final paragraph repeats points made earlier rather than extending the argument. To improve, ensure each paragraph focuses on a distinct, well-supported reason that directly reinforces your thesis without internal contradictions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the flow between ideas is often mechanical or confusing. For example, the transition 'However, increment in price is not a good option, yet it will be beneficial...' creates a logical disconnect. The use of cohesive devices like 'To commence' and 'Furthermore' is present, but they are sometimes used with awkward phrasing. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the subject of 'it may suffer' is ambiguous. Improving the logical progression between sentences and ensuring that pronouns clearly refer to their intended antecedents will significantly enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'widespread debate,' 'misleading information,' and 'implemented.' However, there are frequent errors in word choice and collocation that occasionally impede the flow, such as 'adds a huge amount of sugar' (which lacks a subject) and 'higher authority' (which is slightly unnatural in this context). Some phrases are repetitive, and the precision of your vocabulary is limited. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and ensure that your word choices are contextually appropriate rather than relying on general terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'which containing high amount'), missing articles (e.g., 'in front of the products'), and awkward sentence construction (e.g., 'some individuals believe that adds a huge amount of sugar'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma splices and run-on sentences. While these errors do not completely prevent the reader from understanding your message, they occur frequently enough to lower the score. Focus on mastering basic sentence structure and proofreading for subject-verb agreement.

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

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