Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-09

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 6.0)

Many individuals believe that the effective approach to restriction smoking is to ban it from public places. In contrast to this, other people are not agree with this idea. However, I believe that this single step is unsufficient and additional effective measures should be taken by the government such as increase in tax on tobacco products as well as organizing the awareness campaigns.

On the one hand, those smoker who smoke in the public places such as bus stops, railways stations, parks are causing detrimental effects on general public by making them passive smoker. They become more prone to respiratory diseases. Apart from this, teenagers and young adults will also attract to such kind of activities if they will see someone who an smoking in front of them. For instance, a recent studies that revealed that 20% smokers are using local places for smoking and cause deleterious effects.

In contrast to this, Along with this, government should introduce comprehensive awareness campaigns in schools, colleges to educate people about the long term consequences such as oral cancer, lung cancer and other harmful effects. Moreover, government should increase the tax price on tobacco products so that it will be unaffordable to buy. For example, it has been seen that in those countries where these regulations are adopted, there are low rate of smoking.

In conclusion, although there should be restriction on smoking in local areas I believe that it should be accompanied by some other effective measures such as organising the awareness programs and increase the taxation prices.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant, such as the mention of passive smoking and the need for taxation. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the example regarding '20% of smokers' is vague and lacks context. While the position is consistent, the supporting arguments could be more thoroughly explored to reach a higher band. The response covers all parts of the prompt, but the depth of analysis is somewhat superficial, which is characteristic of a band 6 performance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'On the one hand', 'In contrast to this', and 'Moreover'. However, some transitions are mechanical or slightly awkward, such as the repetitive 'In contrast to this, Along with this' at the start of the third paragraph. Referencing is generally clear, but the flow between sentences occasionally feels disjointed due to grammatical errors. Overall, the progression of ideas is coherent, but the management of cohesive devices could be more sophisticated.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'detrimental effects', 'passive smoker', and 'deleterious'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'restriction smoking' instead of 'restricting smoking' and 'tax price' instead of 'tax rates'. Some phrasing is repetitive, and the range of vocabulary is somewhat limited, preventing a higher score. The errors do not impede communication, but they are frequent enough to limit the band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, such as 'other people are not agree' (should be 'do not agree'), 'unsufficient' (insufficient), 'those smoker' (those smokers), and 'a recent studies that revealed' (a recent study revealed). These errors are persistent and affect the accuracy of the writing. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of control over basic grammatical structures and subject-verb agreement prevents the essay from reaching a higher band.

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