Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-04

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)

It is true that a lot of manufactured foods and drinks contains very high levels of sugar in them which would defiantly cause health problems in individuals. The most common problem the world is facing today is obesity and diabetes which is ultimately caused by consuming products with high sugars.

There is a school of thought that says that the products containing high sugar levels should be made more expensive to encourage people to consume less sugar. Some people think this is a great idea to increase prices other disagree to the thinking. The group agreeing to this says that the health of people is most important and this measure would help a lot encouraging people to consume less sugar and live a healthy lifestyle.

But on the other hand there also people who think increasing the price of sugar containing products might make people to consume less sugar but it is like an double edged sword. We have to look at the other side of coin which is that increasing the prices would put huge impact on our lives. This impact might not be on health but it would definitely effect our lives like if the products are made expensive it would make the sugar industries to crash . Sugar and sugar containing products plays a huge part in the economy and making the prices high can hit the economy really badly.

Summarising everything up and talking about myself, I think that it is really not a great idea to increase the price of sugar products rather the sugar in the food and drinks should be regulated by the government

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both sides of the argument regarding sugar taxes. However, the development is somewhat superficial. While you mention health benefits and economic concerns, the arguments lack depth and specific examples. For instance, you mention that sugar industries might crash, but you do not explain why or provide a concrete example of such an economic impact. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your points with more detailed reasoning and illustrative examples. Your position is clear in the conclusion, but it could have been more consistently maintained throughout the body paragraphs to ensure a more persuasive argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive. Phrases like 'on the other hand' and 'summarising everything up' are standard, but the transition between ideas within paragraphs could be smoother. Some sentences feel disconnected, and the logical flow between the health argument and the economic argument is a bit abrupt. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would significantly enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to express your ideas clearly. However, there is a lack of variety and precision. You rely on basic terms like 'great idea' and 'huge impact' multiple times. There are also some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'effect our lives' (should be 'affect') and 'the group agreeing to this'. To improve, try to incorporate more academic vocabulary related to economics and public health, and pay closer attention to word forms and collocations to ensure your writing sounds more natural and sophisticated.

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 distract the reader. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('foods and drinks contains'), spelling errors ('defiantly' instead of 'definitely'), and awkward phrasing ('some people think this is a great idea to increase prices other disagree to the thinking'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring correct punctuation will help improve your accuracy.

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

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