Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-02
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 of them beleive that no smoking in public area is the good idea to discourage smoking, while some others say that other stricter measures are needed. This essay will discuss both these views before reaching conclusion.
On one hand, some people say that no smoking in public places will reduce the number of smokers. Because if government introduce a regulation of no smoking in public areas, people have to go and find a smoking place to smoke. If they dont have enough time to go and come back, they will try to avoid smoke at that time. For example, a person who waiting for a bus in 10 min at a bus stop think lets take a smoke. But if smoking in public place is illegal, he do not smoke. As a result the number of people who smoke at public place will reduce.
On the other hand, some people have a opinion that not only making smoking illegal in public space is not enough and other measures are needed. For example, giving higher fines can reduce the number of public smokers. Because, when they charged with higher fines they will think twice to smoke in a public area. Once they got a fine they will always remember and they will tell their friends and family about this. As a result, it will be widely spread to every pearson and can lead to a significant down in the number of people who smoke at public places.
In conclusion, introducing no smoking at public place and giving higher fines for those who did the crime can significantly reduce the number of smokers. From my percpective, no smoking in public place will be a great option to discourage smoking.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
Your response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on public smoking regulations and providing your own opinion in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas is uneven. While the first body paragraph attempts to explain how banning smoking in public places reduces consumption with an example about a bus stop, some parts of your reasoning remain somewhat under-developed. For instance, the transition from avoiding a smoke to reducing overall smoking is a bit simplistic. Your position is generally clear throughout the text, but to move up to a higher band, you would need to extend and support all your ideas with deeper elaboration and more sophisticated examples.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
Your essay has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical organization divided into standard introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs. You make use of basic cohesive devices such as 'On one hand,' 'On the other hand,' and 'In conclusion' to signal the direction of your arguments. However, cohesion can sometimes feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. Referencing and linking between sentences could be smoother to avoid choppy phrasing. To reach the next level, you need to use a wider range of cohesive devices more flexibly and ensure that the progression of ideas flows seamlessly from one sentence to the next without relying on formulaic transitions.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'regulation,' 'significant,' and 'discourage.' However, there are noticeable limitations and errors in word choice, collocation, and spelling that restrict your score. For example, you use 'beleive' instead of believe, 'public area' instead of public areas, 'take a smoke' instead of have a smoke or smoke a cigarette, and 'pearson' instead of person. Additionally, phrases like 'did the crime' are unnatural when discussing smoking bans. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they highlight the need for a more precise and accurate control of lexical items.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
Your writing displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures such as conditional and causal clauses like 'Because if government introduce a regulation...' However, your sentences contain frequent errors in grammar and punctuation. There are issues with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'government introduce' instead of governments introduce, 'a person who waiting' instead of who is waiting), missing articles (e.g., 'reach conclusion' instead of reach a conclusion), and incorrect verb forms ('if they charged' instead of if they are charged). These grammatical inaccuracies require some effort for the reader to process, which places this aspect of your writing firmly at this level.
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