Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-02
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)
High levels of sugar consumption contributes to major health problems such as, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. In my opinion, sugar consumption should be limited to avoid such kind of health issues, with a balanced diet and active lifestyle.
On one hand, it is clinically proven that the food and drinks have high levels of sugar in them. Some people believe that sugar should be made very expensive so, the people will hesitate in buying it, due to its high price. For example, if sugar's price per kilogram is 1$, after price increase suppose, if it is 2$, then people will spend the same amount of money for the less quantity of sugar. Therefore, people argue that price of sugar should be increased so, that the food and drink manufacturers use less sugar in their products for saving money.
On the other hand, sugar consumption alone is not a major cause of health problems. A person's lifrestyle, eating habits and excercise routine also matter. For example, If there is a balanced diet and regular exercise in person's routine, then the person will unlikely to suffer from health problem, no matter, how much is the price of sugar. In contrast, a person who don't follow a balanced diet and don't excercise regulary, will likely to suffer from health problems, irrespective of sugar price.
Overall, in my opinion, sugar alone is not one of the major cause for health problems. People should follow a proper diet and a healthy lifestyle and should not blame directly sugar for health issues. However, government should make people aware of the risks of high sugar consumption through education and self-awareness.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the task, presenting a partial position on whether sugary products should be more expensive. However, some ideas are under-developed or shift focus. For instance, the prompt specifically asks whether sugary products should be taxed or made more expensive to reduce consumption, but the discussion drifts into a broader argument about lifestyle and exercise. While the introduction states an opinion, the body paragraphs lean towards general observations rather than fully extending and supporting a clear stance throughout. To reach the next level, the ideas regarding price increases and public health need more robust explanation and direct connection to the prompt's core question.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
There is a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, dividing the introduction, two body paragraphs, and conclusion logically. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. You use basic cohesive devices like 'On one hand' and 'On the other hand', but referencing and transitions within paragraphs can be repetitive or unclear, such as the frequent repetition of phrases like 'for example' and 'so that'. To improve, you should employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices and ensure smoother progression of ideas between sentences without relying on formulaic transitions.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating sufficient range to discuss health and sugar consumption. You attempt less common vocabulary, such as 'clinically proven' and 'lifestyle', but there are noticeable errors in word choice, form, and spelling, such as 'lifrestyle' and 'excercise'. Additionally, some expressions are slightly unnatural, such as 'spend the same amount of money for the less quantity of sugar'. These errors do not seriously impede communication, but to achieve a higher score, you need greater precision in word choice, correct spelling, and more accurate collocation.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writing displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an attempt at varied structures like conditional sentences ('if sugar's price per kilogram is 1$...'). However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, such as missing articles ('a person's routine'), awkward phrasing, subject-verb agreement issues ('High levels of sugar consumption contributes'), and unnecessary commas (such as after 'such as'). While these errors rarely completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to hold the response back. Greater accuracy in complex structures and cleaner punctuation are required for a higher band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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