Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-03

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)

Sugar has a bad impact on the health of the consumers and it causes serious health problems.By increasing its price it also has a bad impact because for some products sugar is also necessary so by increasing the price it also increase the price of those products.

As sugar has a harmful effect on health but it is also a usefull product in many things.And by increasing the price many everyday products price also increases.Educate the peoples about the effects of sugar on there health and warn them it can cause serious health problems for them.

For example: Sugar is used in bread,rusk and other products by increasing the price of sugar these products price also increase.

Every thing has good and bad effects same is the case for sugar.Sugar is also necessary to enhance the taste of the food so sugar is also necessary.So makers off food and drinks also need to give attention on their products.They can improve them by using plant base sugar in there products by using these its harmfull effect become less.

For example:If the manufactures use Stiva plant base sugar it has less effects on health and taste is almost the same.

In my opinion increasing the price is not the solution we have to use other alternative ways such as replace sugar with other natural sweetners.And there is a need to teach people about the effect of sugar on there heath it can be done my conducting open seminars and advertisements for the education of consumers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses the task by discussing whether sugary products should be made more expensive, presenting a clear position against price increases in favour of education and alternatives. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. While the point about higher prices driving up the cost of everyday items like bread is relevant, other points, such as the mention of plant-based sugars, are repetitive and lack full elaboration. Some arguments tend to overgeneralise without sufficient support. To reach a higher level, the writer needs to extend and support all main arguments thoroughly, exploring the socioeconomic consequences of taxation and the viability of public health campaigns in greater depth.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some organisation evident in the writing, moving from an introduction to arguments against taxation, alternative solutions like plant-based sugars, and a concluding opinion. However, there is no clear overall progression throughout the essay, and the sequencing of ideas feels disjointed at times. Paragraphing is used, but the internal structure of paragraphs lacks cohesive flow. Furthermore, cohesive devices are inadequate or repetitive, with sentences often mechanically linked using basic connectors like 'so' and 'for example' rather than a varied range of referencing or transitional phrases, which disrupts the logical movement of the argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, covering basic food and health terms such as 'health problems', 'consumers', 'substances', and 'enhance the taste'. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'manufactures' and 'natural sweetners', but this is accompanied by noticeable errors in word choice, form, and spelling, including 'usefull', 'peoples', 'there' instead of 'their', 'plant base', and 'Stiva'. These lexical slips cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the vocabulary from achieving greater precision. To improve, the writer should focus on accurate word formation, correct spelling, and expanding their range of functional academic synonyms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The essay displays a limited range of structures, relying mostly on simple sentences joined by coordinating conjunctions or relative clauses, and attempts at more complex structures are often faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('everyday products price also increases'), missing articles, and incorrect prepositional use within grammatical patterns. Punctuation is also weak, with run-on sentences and comma splices affecting readability. These frequent errors can cause difficulty for the reader. To progress, the writer must work on mastering complex sentence patterns, ensuring accurate subject-verb agreement, and improving punctuation control.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.