Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-23

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)

Processed packaged food products contains high quantities of sugar, which can potentially harm the well-being of consumers. People argue that products containing high sugar should be discouraged by increasing the cost of the product. In my opinion, it will not completely solve the root cause of the health issues caused by eating high sugar as the rich can easily buy the highly sanctioned product for an expensive price.

Processed food containing excess sugar are highly sold in the present market. These foods and beverages are developed to attract the tongue as sugar is addictive. For instance, products such as donuts, cookies and beverages such as coca cola, pepsi, dr. pepper and many more, are filled with sugar. However, there are side effects of eating sugar in higher quantities, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.

Therefore, in my opinion, regulations regarding this should be made for the welfare of the general public. The notion that increasing the cost of the product will decrease the sales of a product is not accurate. It does not consider the fact that a rich person is not concerned about the price of the product and will buy it despite the increased cost . Nevertheless, there are other solutions for this problem, such as, regulating the manufacturing companies by limiting the amount of added sugar in certain product categories and requiring the product packages to contain warning labels.

To conclude, safeguarding the general public from health risks due to high sugar is extremely important. Equally important is to include all classes of the population, so package warning labels and restricting manufacturing of high sugar products should be encouraged.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear: you argue that making sugary products more expensive is insufficient and favour regulation and warning labels instead. You address the health risks and explain why a price increase may not deter wealthier consumers, while the examples of sugary drinks and snacks make the issue concrete. This gives the response a relevant, supported line of argument. To strengthen it further, develop the claim about wealthier consumers with more explanation or evidence, and consider the likely effect on lower-income consumers rather than treating price increases mainly as ineffective. The proposed limits on added sugar and package warnings are relevant, but their benefits could also be explained more fully. Overall, the task is addressed and the main ideas are extended, though some support remains general.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall progression: it introduces your position, describes sugary products and their health effects, presents alternatives to price increases, and concludes with a recommendation. Paragraphing supports this structure, and linking expressions such as “For instance,” “Therefore,” “Nevertheless,” and “To conclude” help guide the reader. The contrast between higher prices and other forms of regulation is also easy to follow. At times, however, the links feel somewhat formulaic, and the relationship between the claim that sugar is addictive and the examples of products could be made more explicit. The conclusion repeats the proposed measures without adding much synthesis. Use a wider range of natural transitions and clearer references between ideas to make the progression feel more seamless.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range of topic vocabulary, including “high quantities of sugar,” “health risks,” “added sugar,” “warning labels,” and “manufacturing companies.” These choices communicate the argument clearly, and phrases such as “root cause” show an attempt to use less common language. Some wording is imprecise or awkward, however: “highly sanctioned product” does not clearly express the intended idea, and “attract the tongue” is not a natural collocation. “The rich” is also less appropriate in this context than a neutral expression such as “wealthier consumers.” There are occasional spelling and capitalization issues in the brand names, but meaning remains clear. To move beyond adequate range, focus on precise collocations and consistent formal register rather than using elevated-sounding phrases that do not fit naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex forms, including a relative clause in “which can potentially harm the well-being of consumers” and a conditional structure in “will buy it despite the increased cost.” Most sentences are understandable, and errors do not prevent the reader from following your argument. Some agreement and sentence-structure errors remain: “products contains” should be “products contain,” and “Processed food containing excess sugar are highly sold” has a mismatch between the singular subject and plural verb. The sentence beginning “Nevertheless, there are other solutions” also has awkward punctuation around “such as.” Review subject–verb agreement, article use, and punctuation around introductory phrases and lists. More consistently accurate complex sentences would improve control while preserving your current range.

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