Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-10

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 5.0)

Smoking cigarettes are indeed terrible for your health, especially in the lungs. One of the best ways to discourage someone to stop smoking is the ban it in public areas, although it is not enough to stop everybody from smoking because they will still find a way to smoke.

Cigarette addiction is very hard to stop, one alternative way to stop to intake tobacco is the so called vape. Advertisement says it is much more safe than regular tabacco, a lot of people are switch to vaping because it produces more safer smoke and have a variety of flavors.

For me anythings that you inhaled is very bad for you health especially when it is smoke.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, reaching only 116 words. Consequently, the task is addressed only minimally. While the prompt asks to discuss both views and provide an opinion, the development is severely underdeveloped. The ideas regarding public bans and alternative measures are introduced but lack the necessary elaboration, examples, and logical progression required for a formal essay. The opinion is stated briefly at the end, but the overall response is far too short to satisfy the requirements of an IELTS Task 2 essay, resulting in a significant penalty for task completion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into three short paragraphs, which provides a basic structure. However, the progression of ideas is disjointed. There is a lack of cohesive devices to link sentences and arguments effectively. For instance, the transition between the discussion of public bans and the introduction of vaping is abrupt. The logical flow is hindered by the brevity of the response, making it difficult to follow a coherent argument. Paragraphing is present but does not serve to organize a well-developed discussion, as the ideas within the paragraphs are limited and lack depth.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is basic and repetitive, which limits the ability to convey complex ideas. There are several errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'stop to intake tobacco' instead of 'stop tobacco intake' and 'more safer' (a double comparative). The use of 'the so called vape' is informal and imprecise. While the meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is insufficient to demonstrate the flexibility or precision required for higher bands. The student relies on simple, everyday language rather than academic or topic-specific terminology.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('Smoking cigarettes are indeed terrible'), incorrect preposition usage ('discourage someone to stop'), and morphological errors ('anythings that you inhaled'). The sentence structures are predominantly simple, with very few attempts at complex sentences. When complex structures are attempted, they are often faulty, such as 'a lot of people are switch to vaping'. Punctuation is basic, and the overall control of grammar is weak, reflecting a limited range of structures.

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