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)
Nowadays, mostly drinks and food contain high amount of sugar, which may lead to serious health problem. Therefore, authority should increase sugary products prices to encourage individuals to take less sugar.
To begin with, if sugar products prices would high then people will avoid buy these unhealthy products due to expensive. For example, people who have an average income they prefer to buy cheap food as compared to expensive sugary products. Moreover, government should apply more taxes on unhealthy foods and drinks, therefore people will know about the health issues which may occur due to eat sugary products.
In addition, higher foods prices may lead individuals to buy alternative health products. To elaborate, many people prefer to eat healthy products rather than sugary products because they can not afford higher prices sugar meal. Furthermore, expensive sugary food can help in reduce health disease such as, diabetes, stress, panic attack and heart issue. For that reason, sugar products should be expensive compared to other foods.
To conclude, expensive sugar products play an important role to save people's life from the several health problems. High taxes on sugary products can reduce consumption of sugar products and may lead to encourage people.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of increasing prices. However, the essay is significantly under the 250-word minimum requirement, which limits the depth of the argument. While the main ideas—such as the economic deterrent effect and the potential for healthier alternatives—are relevant, they are underdeveloped. The lack of word count prevents the exploration of counter-arguments or more nuanced analysis, resulting in a repetitive structure. To improve, you must expand on your points with more detailed explanations and specific, real-world examples to meet the length requirement and fully develop your position.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'To begin with,' 'Moreover,' and 'In addition' to link ideas. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat mechanical and repetitive. Some transitions feel forced, and the lack of length makes the overall flow feel stunted. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive devices and ensure that the relationship between sentences is more fluid rather than relying on simple, repetitive linking phrases.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'sugary products,' 'healthy products,' and 'expensive.' There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'take less sugar' (instead of 'consume less sugar') and 'reduce health disease' (instead of 'reduce the incidence of health conditions'). To improve, try to incorporate more academic vocabulary and precise collocations related to health, economics, and public policy.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'if sugar products prices would high' (incorrect conditional structure), 'avoid buy' (should be 'avoid buying'), and 'due to eat' (should be 'due to eating'). Subject-verb agreement and article usage are also inconsistent. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors like verb forms after prepositions and modal verbs.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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