Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-11

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)

It is believed by many that restricting smoking at public places can demoralize whilst some individuals have a thought that more prohibitions should be required to control so. This essay will intend to analyze both the views along with my perspective and reasons as well.

On the one hand, it is very crucial to ban smoking at public gatherings. To explain, scientific facts reveal that 70% of passive smokers are more affected from smoking rather than active smokers. This is the main reason to make smoking illegal in public. Moreover, taking others measures can not help only in reducing smoking as it is difficult to get rid of smoking faster. Hence, public smoking can help in impacting huge level of persons.

On the other hand, for reduction of inhaling tobacco only banning it in public is not beneficial as by doing so people will not stop this habit, they will do it somewhere else. There are many steps to control this issue. The main can be raising tobacco taxes. To explicate, most of the people who are in severe addition of cigarettes are not wealthy. They but tobacco from other sources like begging money or dependent on someone. However, if the taxes are reduced, the demand for cigarettes will automatically comes down which will further drops smoking. For example, a survey conducted by WHO last year, demonstrates that Malaysia was almost successful in controlling smoking after bringing the prices up for that. Therefore, other methods are more important for having a control over smoking.

To conclude, although restricting smoking at public areas is a good objective to demote ones from smoking, yet I believe that making the prices higher can effect the affordibility level of buyers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The essay addresses both views and provides a clear opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. The argument regarding passive smokers is relevant, but the explanation of why public bans are insufficient is slightly underdeveloped. The second body paragraph introduces the idea of taxation, which is a strong point, but the logic regarding 'if taxes are reduced, the demand will come down' is contradictory; the student likely meant 'increased'. The position is clear, but the supporting arguments would benefit from more precise reasoning to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'On the one hand', 'Moreover', and 'To conclude', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical or misused, such as 'demoralize' (which is used incorrectly in context) and the transition between the passive smoker argument and the effectiveness of other measures. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but the flow between sentences could be smoother to improve the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task but shows some limitations. There are instances of word-choice errors that impede clarity, such as 'demoralize' instead of 'deter' or 'discourage', and 'severe addition' instead of 'severe addiction'. The phrase 'impacting huge level of persons' is also unnatural. While the student attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'passive smokers' and 'tobacco taxes', the lack of precision in word choice prevents a higher score. More attention to collocations and word forms is needed.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors throughout, such as 'restricting smoking at public places' (should be 'in'), 'taking others measures' (should be 'other'), and 'demand... will automatically comes down' (subject-verb agreement error). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the frequency of these minor errors is noticeable. While the meaning is usually clear, the control over complex structures is inconsistent, which limits the score in this criterion.

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.