Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-25

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 6.5)

Some individual believe that making smoking illegal in public places is the most effective way to discourage people from smoking, while others opine that this measure alone is not sufficient. I firmly believe that banning smoking in public areas is beneficial , but it should be combined with other measures to achieve better results. Hence, I will elaborate reason with relevant examples in the upcoming paragraphs.

To commence with, prohibiting smoking in public places can significantly reduce the number of people who smoke. When smoking is not permitted in restaurants, workplaces, parks and other public areas, smokers have fewer opportunities to smoke every day. Moreover, such laws protect non smokers from second-hand smoke, which can cause serious health problems. A clear examples of this is that many countries have introduced smoking bans in restaurants and offices, making these places safer and more comfortable for everyone.

On the contrary side, simply banning smoking in public areas may not be enough to help people quite. Many smokers are addicted to nicotine and may continue smoking at home or in other private places. Therefore, governments should introduce additional measures such as increasing taxes on cigarettes, displaying clear health situations and providing free programmes to help people stop smoking. For instance, counselling and nicotine replacement programmes can support smokers who genuinely want to give up the habits.

In my view, a combination of strict laws and supportive measures is the best approach. While public smoking bans can reduce explore to tobacco smoke and discourage causal smoking, financial and medical support can help addicted smoke quite completely. This combined strategy is likely to be more effective than relying on a single measure.

To sum up, it can be said that banning smoking in public places has clear benefits, particularly for public health, but it can not completely solve the problem of smoking. Governments should therefore combine smoking restrictions with education, higher taxes and quitting support.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have addressed all parts of the prompt, discussing both views and providing a clear personal opinion. Your position is consistent throughout the essay. The ideas are relevant and supported by examples, such as the mention of smoking bans in restaurants and the suggestion of nicotine replacement programs. To reach a higher band, ensure that your arguments are developed with slightly more depth; for instance, when discussing the limitations of bans, you could elaborate on why private spaces are harder to regulate. Overall, the response is well-structured and directly answers the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use cohesive devices effectively, such as 'To commence with', 'On the contrary side', and 'In my view', which help guide the reader through your arguments. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. While the flow is generally smooth, some transitions could be more sophisticated to avoid a slightly mechanical feel. For example, 'On the contrary side' is a bit non-standard; 'Conversely' or 'On the other hand' would be more natural. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'prohibiting', 'addicted', 'nicotine', and 'counselling'. However, there are several instances of word-choice errors and minor inaccuracies, such as 'reduce explore to tobacco' (should be 'exposure') and 'help people quite' (should be 'quit'). Additionally, 'causal smoking' is likely a misuse of 'casual smoking'. While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on collocations and ensuring the correct form of words (e.g., 'addicted' vs 'addiction') will improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this level. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'Some individual believe' (should be 'individuals'), 'A clear examples' (should be 'example'), and 'it can not completely solve' (should be 'cannot'). These errors are frequent enough to be noticeable but do not cause difficulty for the reader. To improve, pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement and pluralization. Your control of punctuation is generally good, and the sentence variety helps maintain the reader's interest throughout the response.

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