Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-02
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
Some people say that the best way to discourage smoking is to make smoking illegal in public places. Other people say that this is not enough and that other measures are needed.
Discuss both these views, and give your opinion.
Give reasons for your answer, and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
In today's world, smoking is witnessed all over the world publicly. Most of the youngsters depend on it, which ruins their own lives and their family life. With this, a few say the good method to not support the smoking is to make them illegal in public places but some of them say that there is some more ways to discouge it . i can discuss both views in upcoming paragraph.
According to the first side where some people say that making the smoking illegal publicaly is good as
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 is significantly under-length, containing only 89 words against the 250-word requirement. Consequently, the task is only partially addressed. The introduction attempts to set up the discussion, but the essay stops abruptly after only one sentence of the first body paragraph. Because the response is incomplete, it is impossible to evaluate the development of ideas, the presentation of a clear position, or the discussion of both views as required by the prompt. This failure to meet the minimum length requirement severely limits the score for Task Achievement, as the response cannot be considered a fully developed essay.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is too short to demonstrate effective paragraphing or a logical progression of ideas. While there is a basic attempt to introduce the topic, the essay lacks the structure necessary to evaluate coherence and cohesion. There are no cohesive devices used to link ideas, and the abrupt ending prevents the establishment of a logical flow. The text is essentially a fragment rather than a coherent piece of writing, which makes it difficult to assess the writer's ability to organise information effectively.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive. Phrases such as 'ruins their own lives' and 'good method' are functional but lack the range and precision expected for higher bands. There are also errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'not support the smoking' and 'make them illegal', which sound unnatural. The limited length of the text restricts the opportunity to demonstrate a wider range of vocabulary or the ability to use less common lexical items with precision. The current range is sufficient only for very simple communication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains several grammatical errors that affect the clarity of the writing. Examples include 'smoking is witnessed all over the world publicly', which is awkward, and 'there is some more ways', which contains a subject-verb agreement error. The sentence structures are simple and lack the complexity required for higher bands. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of errors in such a short text indicates a lack of control over basic grammatical structures. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of lowercase 'i' for the first-person pronoun.
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