Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-12

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 5.0)

It is true that many processed foods and drinks have high levels of sugar, and this leads to many health problems. I firmly subscribe to the view that increasing the price of sugary products is an effective way to reduce consumption. The primary reason for supporting this measure because high sugar intake and health problems. The most persuasive argument in favor of this view is that excessive sugar consumption is a major cause of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and tooth decay. These condition not only affect individuals but also place a huge burden on public health care systems. This is clearly exemplified by countries like the UK and Mexico have already introduced a "sugar tax" on soft drinks, and report show that sales of these drinks dropped significantly after prices went up. This prove that prices influences individuals buying decisions. A further point worthy of considerations is that making sugary items more expensive would encourage both consumers and manufacturers to look for healthier alternatives. Furthermore, when junk food soda become less affordable, people are more likely to choose water, fresh fruit or unsweetened drinks. At the same time, food companies would be motivated to reduce sugar contained and others food. Accordingly, I remain fully convinced that sugary products prices increase because the health problems has become less. Moreover, some people many health issues because the sugar food eaten

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response takes a clear position in agreement with the prompt and presents relevant supporting ideas regarding health problems like obesity and diabetes, as well as the economic impact on public healthcare systems. Examples like the 'sugar tax' in the UK and Mexico are introduced to support the argument. However, the task achievement is hindered significantly by two major issues. First, the response falls short of the 250-word minimum, containing only 228 words, which attracts a penalty. Second, the conclusion is severely disrupted by incomplete sentences and disjointed thoughts, such as 'sugary products prices increase because the health problems has become less', which prevents the main position from being fully and clearly resolved. Consequently, the score reflects a partial address of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay attempts a logical structure, opening with an introduction, followed by body paragraphs discussing health consequences and economic alternatives, and ending with a concluding sentence. However, the progression is frequently disrupted by cohesion errors and ungrammatical transitions. For instance, sentences like 'The primary reason for supporting this measure because high sugar intake and health problems' are grammatically incomplete and disrupt the flow. Furthermore, paragraphing is poorly handled, as the text essentially runs together into a single large block with an incomplete trailing sentence at the end. Reference words are sometimes misused or unclear, leading to mechanical and faulty connections between ideas, which aligns with a Band 5 descriptor.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, successfully using common and some less common lexical items such as 'obesity', 'diabetes', 'tooth decay', and 'alternatives'. There are also successful attempts at collocation with phrases like 'public health care systems' and 'junk food'. However, the lexical range is limited by repetitive phrasing and multiple word-formation or choice errors. Examples include 'sugar contained and others food' instead of 'sugar content and other foods', and 'prices influences individuals buying decisions' where pluralization and word forms are incorrect. While communication is generally maintained, these frequent inaccuracies prevent the vocabulary score from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'I firmly subscribe to the view that increasing the price of sugary products is an effective way to reduce consumption.' However, control over grammar and sentence architecture is weak. The text contains frequent and severe grammatical errors, including sentence fragments ('The primary reason for supporting this measure because high sugar intake and health problems'), subject-verb agreement issues ('These condition not only affect'), and ungrammatical clauses ('countries like the UK and Mexico have already introduced... and report show'). The final sentences break down completely in terms of syntax. These frequent errors cause considerable difficulty for the reader and typify a Band 5 performance.

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