Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-11
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 5.5)
Some believes that announcing the smoking in public areas illegal is help to get rid of the smoking, but many consider this method is not only sufficient and other steps should be taken. In my point of view ,
whether law is effective in this issue , taking other measures play prompt role.
On one hand, it is undebatable banned smoking on public places plays a crucial role in reduction of its uses. for instance if parks , libraries , recreational centers and many more such places which are mostly used by youngsters are smoke free, it would obviously effect there habits. Moreover, refuse the smoking in such areas also reduce the health issues which are mainly occurred through vapes and cigarettes.
However, this measure is not sufficient to tackle smoking so , it is important to make other steps to get rid this habit. Government should limit its purchases and make the strict rules for youngsters. For example, there is a proper paperwork for a shop that sell these products to appropriate age groups. As a result, it limited its use and the young adults get less use to it. To add more for my own opinion is that limiting the stock and banned the import , export of such products help society to tackle lots of health issues.
Consequently, restricted the smoking in public places could help but other measures should be taken to reduce its use specially in young adults because they are the future and its our responsiblty to give them a smoke free environment so they do better in their lives.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—making public smoking illegal versus implementing broader measures—and presents a clear personal opinion. The student explores how public smoking bans impact habits in locations such as 'parks, libraries, recreational centers' and suggests additional measures like limiting purchases, restricting imports, and enforcing rules for younger populations. However, the development of ideas remains somewhat repetitive and relies on general assertions rather than fully extended arguments. For instance, the discussion on limiting stock touches on a good point, but lacks deeper explanation. Overall, the content is relevant and meets the requirements of the prompt, aligning best with a Band 5.5 to 6.0 profile.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is divided into four distinct paragraphs reflecting a standard introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion, which provides a coherent overall arrangement. Cohesive devices are attempted, such as 'On one hand', 'However', and 'Moreover', though some transitions are awkward or mechanically deployed, such as 'To add more for my own opinion is that' and 'Consequently, restricted the smoking'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate the main themes. Referencing is occasionally unclear due to pronoun confusion, such as 'its our responsiblty' and 'limited its use'. Despite these faults, the logical progression is generally maintained from the introduction through the arguments to the final stance, placing the writing firmly in the Band 5.0 to 5.5 range.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common terms such as 'undebatable', 'recreational centers', and 'import, export'. However, there are frequent word-choice and collocation errors, as seen in phrases like 'announcing the smoking in public areas illegal is help', 'refuse the smoking', and 'get less use to it'. Word forms are also misused on several occasions, such as 'restricted the smoking' instead of 'restricting' and 'responsiblty' (spelling error). While these inaccuracies are noticeable and occasionally disrupt the flow of reading, communication is not severely impeded, making this characteristic of Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writing exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though attempts at complex structures frequently contain grammatical errors or awkward phrasing, such as 'whether law is effective in this issue , taking other measures play prompt role.' There are noticeable errors with verb tenses, subject-verb agreement ('Some believes', 'taking other measures play'), and prepositional use. Punctuation is also erratic, with spaces placed incorrectly before commas. Although the reader can discern the intended meaning, the high frequency of basic and complex structural errors means that error-free sentences are in the minority, supporting a Band 5.0 score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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