Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-14

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)

In the contemporary era, where youngsters or adults are found prey to bad habits due to numerous factors, smoking is one of them. For this reason, many people believe that smoking can be demotivated by not allowing them at public places, while others argue that several other measures can ressolve this problem. Hence, there arise a debate.

Certainly, those who are in favour of banning this practice at public places might be concerned about passive smokers as they inhale that smoke unintentionally. To substantiate, even a study in America proved that passive smokers are affected equally as the active smokers. Also, smoking at public prevents the right of each individual to breathe in fresh air.

On the contrary, others would assert that simply banning at public place is not the final solution to this muddle, since active smokers may find some alternate place to smoke. Therefore, some alternative measures like awareness programs by government and imposing heavy taxes on the sale of cigarettes can reduce their demand which may automatically stop the smokers from purchasing them. Furthermore, participation of citizens in recreational activities by opening more recreational centres or parks by state can divert them from smoking. As a result, they will be less motivated to smoke due to lack of free time available. On the top of this, lessons at school about the detrimental effects of such bad habits can play a vital role in channelizing their energy in positive direction later in life.

In my opinion, every individual effort matters. so depending on government to ban only cannot resolve the problem completely.

To conclude, I aver, though banning is not the ultimate solution yet collective efforts by state, school and government can play a significant role in mitigating this problem.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—making smoking illegal in public places versus implementing additional measures—and provides a clear personal opinion in the conclusion. The ideas are relevant and generally well-developed, such as mentioning passive smoking and suggesting alternative measures like awareness programs and heavy taxes. However, some arguments lack deeper extension; for example, the point about recreational activities is slightly underdeveloped. Overall, the response meets the criteria for Band 6.5 or 7.0, and since IELTS marking uses whole or half-band increments, it sits comfortably at Band 6.0 due to some minor under-development in idea extension.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is coherent overall with a clear logical arrangement, moving appropriately from the introduction to discussing the first view, the second view, and finally the writer's opinion and conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently. Cohesive devices are present, such as 'To substantiate', 'On the contrary', and 'Furthermore', though some transitions feel a bit mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'Hence, there arise a debate.' and 'On the top of this'. Referencing is generally clear, but occasional minor cohesion slips prevent this criterion from reaching a higher band. Therefore, a score of 6.0 is appropriate.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'contemporary era', 'passive smokers', 'muddle', and 'mitigating'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'smoking can be demotivated by not allowing them at public places' instead of 'banned', 'ressolve' (spelling), and 'depending on government to ban only'. Despite these minor inaccuracies, communication is never impeded, and the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning clearly, justifying a score of 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and relative clauses. There are, however, several grammatical errors throughout the text, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('there arise a debate', 'smoking at public prevents'), article omissions ('banning at public place'), and punctuation slips ('effort matters. so depending'). While these errors are noticeable, they rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the argument without difficulty. This balance of mixed structures and persistent non-systematic errors places the grammatical performance firmly at Band 6.0.

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