Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-01

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)

Most people argue that produced food and drink items contain high levels of sugar, which can lead to numerous health issues. Sweet products should be sold at a higher rate to discourage people from buying them and to lessen their consumption. Yes, i agree completely with this notion because sugar is harmful to health in excess quantities.

First off, sweet products like candies, jams and chips including other highly processed foods are extremely harmful for health.

The strong artificial flavor and lack of nutrients in these products makes it unhealthy for consumption. A good way to counter this problem is by becoming healthy eaters and to take in natural food instead of processed ones.

For example, leafy green vegetables are source of many different vitamins such as vitamin A, k and C etc. Carrots and apples help with eyesight and cabbage helps with healthy gut bacteria which contains a lot of fibre content. However, sweets on the other hand lack all these necessary nutrients required for proper body functioning.

Secondly, making sugary products expensive can discourage a vast majority of people to refrain from purchasing extremely sweet items like candies, chocolates, soft drinks and a lot more items which hold high sugar content. Everyone has money to afford junk food and sweets but they forget the bad effects these have on our health. For instance, If the authorities or government really cares about its public and their health they could try to increase the price of processed food to double or ban stores from selling them at all.

In conclusion, banning fast food and consuming leafy green vegetables help to counter the problems caused by sugary products and fast food.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. While you provide relevant arguments regarding the health benefits of natural foods and the potential impact of price increases, the connection between these points and the specific prompt could be tighter. For instance, the discussion on leafy green vegetables is a bit tangential; it would be more effective to focus more on the economic mechanism of the sugar tax itself. The conclusion is also slightly repetitive and introduces a 'banning' concept that was not fully explored in the body paragraphs. To reach a higher band, ensure every point directly supports your stance on the price increase.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'First off', 'Secondly', and 'In conclusion' to signal the structure. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the use of referencing could be more sophisticated. For example, the transition between the health benefits of vegetables and the argument for price increases is abrupt. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'highly processed', 'nutrients', and 'proper body functioning'. However, the vocabulary is somewhat repetitive, and there are instances of imprecise word choice, such as 'sold at a higher rate' (better: 'taxed at a higher rate' or 'priced higher') and 'take in natural food' (better: 'consume natural food'). To improve, try to incorporate more precise collocations and less common lexical items related to economics and health policy to show greater flexibility and precision in your expression.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this level. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'the strong artificial flavor... makes it unhealthy' (subject-verb agreement: 'flavors... make'), and punctuation issues, such as the lowercase 'i' in 'i agree'. Additionally, some phrasing is slightly awkward, like 'if the authorities... really cares' (should be 'care'). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and consistent capitalization will help improve your accuracy.

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

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