Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-14

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 6.5)

There is a clear link between diet and health with many health issues stemming from an unbalanced diet that contains excessive sugar from processed food and drinks.

Often, these unhealthy products are cheaper than healthier alternatives, making it more difficult for people not to purchase them. One way to minimise the consumption of sugar is by increasing the cost of purchasing these manufcatured goods. However, there are alternative methods that could be better used to promote a more balanced healthy diet.

Undoubtedly, given the increasing cost of living including grocieres and amenties, a price increase for sugary items would reduce the number of purchases made as people would seek alternative foods that are better value for money. Nonetheless, many people would still pay an increased for their favoured item/s regardless of health benefits and cost due to their prioritising their own satisfaction.

Another potential way to reduce sugar consumption is by making healthier products cheaper. Thus, people are more likely to consider purhcasing healthier foods as this could be the deciding factor between a person purchasing food that is healthy or unhealthy. Moreover, perhaps more focus could be placed on health advertisements detailing the negatives of consuming these sugary foods. It can be argued that people have the ability and rights to make their own choices regarding what food they wish to eat and increasing the cost of food items to reduce the consumption is quite restrictive.

To conclude, I believe whilst making manufactured food and drink products more expensive would reduce the number of people consuming them, there are alternative methods that would be better suited to addressing the issue of an unhealthy diet.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the task and presents a clear position throughout. The writer discusses the proposition of raising prices on sugary products while also introducing alternative viewpoints, such as subsidising healthier foods and launching public health campaigns. The main ideas are generally well-developed, as seen in the discussion of cost-of-living pressures and personal choice regarding food consumption. However, some arguments, such as the mention of public health advertisements, are slightly under-developed and could have been extended with further explanation. Overall, the task response is well-balanced and meets the criteria for Band 7, as it covers all parts of the prompt with a clear, supported position.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay presents a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information and ideas are logically sequenced across well-defined paragraphs, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct aspect of the debate. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'Undoubtedly', 'Nonetheless', and 'To conclude', which help guide the reader through the argument. However, referencing and cohesive links are occasionally mechanical or slightly repetitive. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, body arguments regarding pricing and alternatives, and the conclusion. This fits comfortably within the requirements for a Band 7 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision, using terms such as 'unbalanced diet', 'excessive sugar', 'alternative alternatives' (though repetitive), and 'satisfaction'. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, but minor spelling and word-choice errors occur throughout the text, including 'manufcatured' (manufactured), 'grocieres' (groceries), 'amenties' (amenities), 'an increased' (an increased price), and 'purhcasing' (purchasing). While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the lexical score from reaching the higher band, which requires greater control of less common lexical items.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over relative clauses and conditional structures, such as 'One way to minimise the consumption of sugar is by increasing the cost...' and '...this could be the deciding factor between a person purchasing food that is healthy or unhealthy.' There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, notably 'making it more difficult for people not to purchase them' (double negative causing slight confusion), 'paying an increased for their favoured item/s', and 'increasing the cost of food items to reduce the consumption is quite restrictive.' Despite these errors, meaning is generally clear and communication is not impeded, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptor.

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

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