Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-25

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)

Major health issues often occur due to high intake of sugary products. However, many people tend to prefer manufactured drinks and snacks which consists of unhealthy ingredients. Everyone believe that increasing the prices of those products will ensure that people consume less sugar, but I disagree this due to the fact that price matter less than taste. Instead, high sugary items should be banned and public awareness camps should be implemented.

Policy makers need to initiate protocols and restrictions to ban products which contains large amount of sugar. Only after these regulations, the manufacturers will stop producing sugary items, although some companies still do not agree on this rule, then such organizations should be charged by high penalty for breaking the regulation. The increasing number of health issues is specifically because of consuming great quantity of sugar directly correlated to manufacturers. For example, in India numerous sugar patient cases are rapidly increasing, the main cause for this problem sugar items which were largely available in the market.

I disagree the statement that, if sugary products are made expensive, people consume less sugar. People still tend to buy items of their choice not just based on price, but if public awareness camps are introduced than it may ensure them to avoid unhealthy risks. Parents should be accountable for their child's health, where most children loves eating readymade foods, it is responsibility of their peers to aware them. Instead, homemade juices and food items should be served to avoid these readymade sugary food items. For instance, research shows that more than 80 percent of children consume juices and items which contains high proportion of sugar, which later affect their health abruptly.

To conclude, governments should start checking on the sugary products and stop them before reaching the market. Awareness camps should become common everywhere to encourage people regarding the health risks for consuming sugary products .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position against the proposed tax, suggesting bans and awareness campaigns instead. However, the development of ideas is somewhat inconsistent. While the argument against price increases is stated, the alternative solutions (bans and awareness) are not fully explored in terms of feasibility or impact. The example regarding India is relevant but lacks specific detail to fully support the argument. The essay covers all parts of the task, but the reasoning could be more nuanced to reach a higher band. The position is clear throughout, but the depth of analysis is limited.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, each with a central theme. There is a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'Only after these regulations, the manufacturers...' and 'if public awareness camps are introduced than it may ensure them'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the third paragraph where 'their peers' is used to refer to parents or guardians, which is confusing. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different stages of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. There is some repetition of basic terms like 'sugary products', 'items', and 'manufacturers'. Some word choices are slightly unnatural, such as 'awareness camps' (better: 'public awareness campaigns') and 'sugar patient cases' (better: 'cases of diabetes'). While the meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is limited, and there is little evidence of less common or idiomatic language. The student relies on simple, functional vocabulary to convey their points.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('drinks and snacks which consists', 'children loves', 'items which contains') and incorrect preposition usage ('disagree this', 'disagree the statement'). There are also issues with article usage and sentence construction, such as 'if some companies still do not agree on this rule, then such organizations should be charged'. While the meaning is usually understandable, these persistent errors prevent the essay from reaching a higher band.

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