Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-24

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 people argue that in order to minimize the consumption of sugary items such as drinks and food, government should impose high tax in it. As it contains the excessive level of sugar, many people have suffered from several health issues. I strongly believe with this statement. This essay will discuss the negative impacts of the sugary items and steps that can be taken by the states to mitigate the problems.

In this modern era, due to the industrial revolution most of the items are manufactured in the factory, containing the high level of sugar. One of the major health issues in individual associated with consumption of manufactured food and drinks is obesity. Significant number of public love to have the junk food due to its flavor and taste. As a result they are gaining their weight day by day. For example, not only the child but also the youths and adults are consuming junk food, although it has side effect in health. Consequently, the number of youths are suffering from obesity as well as the diabetes, as they are considered as the backbone and manpower of the nation to make the world better.

In order to mitigate the issues the government should take the steps of imposing the high tax to minimize the problems. As it had been impose high tax the price of product ultimately rise. Price sensitive people do not want to buy the products. It may also help in mitigate the consumption of products. For instance, Price sensitive consumer limit in their consumption. As a result, the consumption in junk food ultimately minimize.

In conclusion, many people think government should impose high tax to miti

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention obesity and diabetes, the arguments regarding the effectiveness of taxation are repetitive and lack depth. The conclusion is incomplete, which is a significant issue as it prevents a full summary of the argument. To reach a higher band, ensure that each body paragraph provides a fully developed point with a clear link back to the prompt, and always complete your concluding paragraph to provide a sense of closure.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'as a result' and 'consequently'. The progression of ideas is logical, but the abrupt ending of the essay negatively impacts the overall coherence. To improve, try to use a wider variety of linking words and ensure that your ideas flow more naturally from one sentence to the next without relying on the same transition phrases.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'mitigate', 'consumption', and 'industrial revolution'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'impose high tax in it' (should be 'on it') and 'gaining their weight' (should be 'gaining weight'). The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. Focus on learning common collocations and using more sophisticated synonyms to express your ideas more naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('government should impose', 'number of youths are suffering') and article usage ('the industrial revolution', 'the high level'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to affect the flow of the text. To improve, pay closer attention to pluralisation, article usage, and verb tense consistency, and try to incorporate more varied complex sentence structures with greater accuracy.

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

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