Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-03

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)

In recenet years, there has been a debate regarding health issues caused by the high sugar containing processed foods. While some people believe that these products should be made more expensive to encourage people to consume less sugar, others believeve that there should be more effective ways to reduce the consumption of such food items. In my opinion, governments should run awareness ads and promote use of healthy artificial sweetners instead of making carbohydrates containing products expensive.

On the one hand, people argue that increasing the cost of sugary products is best way to promote minimal consumption high sugar containing foos and drinks. Not only does it reduce the sales of these products, but also promote the consumption of healthy food products. For instance, if a country imposes high taxes on processed food items, residents will not buy these costly products. Additionally, the more the tax the more people will prefer eating cost-effective healthy food items. That is why, governments should implement such stratergies to reduce the intake of unhelathy manufactured food.

On the other hand, many people believe that increasing awareness and promoting the use healthy artificial sweetners is the most effective way to promote better eating habbits. Governments should engage awarness seminars about the health problems including obesity and heart issues associated with consumption of carbohydrates rich fast food. Additionally, people should be encouraged to use healthy artificial sweetners to reduce the intake of sugar indirectly. Not only does this reduce the suagrs in food but also fulfill the taste of drinks .

In my opinion, making sugary products expensive may reduce their consumption to some level but this is not a sustainable and best approach. Instead, promoting consumption of healthy alternatives and increasing public awarness are the most effective counters. At the end it is also one's own responsibility to eat less unhelathy products and using healthy alternatives.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is identifiable: you oppose relying on higher prices and favour awareness campaigns and alternatives. You also acknowledge the opposing view, explaining that taxes could reduce sales and encourage people to choose cheaper, healthier food. However, the response only partly develops the task. The discussion of artificial sweeteners is asserted rather than supported, and it does not explain how they would address the wider health problems linked to sugary products. Your conclusion repeats your position but does not resolve this gap. Also clarify whether you disagree with price increases altogether or believe they may help but are insufficient; the essay currently suggests both. The response meets the stated length requirement; 13 words copied from the task prompt were not counted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting contrasting approaches, and a conclusion. Paragraphing helps the reader follow the main points, and signposts such as “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” make the contrast clear. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical: repeated patterns such as “Additionally” and “Not only… but also” connect sentences without always showing a precise relationship. The conclusion also repeats earlier claims rather than drawing the discussion together. Some references are unclear, particularly “this” in “Not only does this reduce the sugars in food,” where the exact action being referred to could be stated more directly. Develop a clearer sequence from claim to explanation to example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “processed foods,” “high taxes,” “obesity,” and “heart issues,” and the overall meaning is generally understandable. There are also attempts at more formal expressions such as “sustainable” and “consumption.” However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, including “recenet,” “believeve,” “sweetners,” and “unhelathy,” which reduce accuracy and polish. Some phrases are awkward or imprecise: “healthy artificial sweeteners” is not clearly explained, while “carbohydrates containing products” does not accurately express the focus on sugar. Repeated use of “products,” “people,” and “promote” also limits flexibility. Choose precise terms and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex structures, including the inversion in “Not only does it reduce the sales…” and conditional phrasing such as “if a country imposes high taxes.” These attempts show some range, and the main argument remains understandable. However, errors in sentence construction and grammatical patterns are frequent enough to make the writing less controlled. For example, “is best way” needs an article, and “promote minimal consumption high sugar containing foods” is missing a grammatical link such as “of.” In “people should be encouraged to use healthy artificial sweeteners,” the structure is sound, but other sentences contain awkward or incomplete patterns. Review articles, prepositions, and sentence boundaries, and aim to make complex sentences accurate before adding more.

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.