Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-17

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)

Smoking creates health related dieases. While some people argue that the best way to stop smoking is prohibiting it in public, other counters that different approaches like stricker goverment policies and raising awareness about the health related issue of smoking might be superior than that. Both the views will be discussed in the ensuing paragraphs and I opine with the latter view.

To commence with, placing heavy fines on smoking will help government to reduce number of smoker in public places. Because of such heavy fines, people will take it very serioulsy, and will avoid smoking in public. Those who do not take it seriously, and think that they can get away with it by paying fines might find it easier in the early stage, but in long run when their financial stability comes in question they will realize the mistake and quit it.

On the other hand, increasing tax rates on tabacco based products might discourage people to grow it in the future. When people find out that they are not receiving enough return on their investment on their tabacco farms, they will find other alternatives like wheat or rice. Also, because of the high price of such products, its demand will drastically decrease in market. In addition to that, government can also spread knowledge about the health issue like lung cancer or ashma caused by consumption of these products. For Example, advertising these dieases as a lable on the product box, people will come to know about its harm to the human body, and ultimately they will stop consuming in the future.

To conclude, even though putting heavy fines government can reduce number of people who smoke in public place, to completley stop it they have come up with higher taxes policies on tabacco products and spread awareness about the health issue.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You present a clear opinion in the introduction, favouring measures beyond restrictions in public, and the conclusion restates this position. You also discuss both views: fines are offered as a way to deter public smoking, while taxes and health warnings are presented as additional measures. However, the first view is treated mainly as a proposal for fines rather than explaining the broader case for making smoking illegal in public places. Some reasoning is also unclear or insufficiently developed—for example, the claim that fines will eventually make smokers quit, and the link between taxing tobacco and farmers changing crops. Develop these points with clearer cause-and-effect reasoning and more directly compare the effectiveness of public-place bans with wider measures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “On the other hand” and “To conclude” helps readers follow the discussion. Within paragraphs, however, progression is sometimes mechanical, and some links between ideas are not fully clear. For instance, the paragraph about taxes moves from farmers’ investment returns to consumer demand without explaining how these points connect to discouraging smoking. The opening paragraph also previews the discussion in a formulaic way. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each supporting point explicitly to the main argument; ensure references such as “that” and “it” have an unmistakable meaning.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “heavy fines,” “tax rates,” “tobacco-based products,” “health issue,” and “lung cancer,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “financial stability” and “spread knowledge.” However, spelling errors and imprecise or unnatural combinations are noticeable, including “dieases,” “stricker,” “tabacco,” “ashma,” and “advertising these diseases as a lable.” Some expressions are also repetitive, particularly references to “health issue” and “products.” Check spelling carefully and choose more precise collocations—for example, say that warnings are displayed on packaging and that taxes may reduce consumption, rather than relying on vague wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a conditional construction in “Those who do not take it seriously … might find it easier,” and a contrastive opening with “While.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in sentence structure and grammatical forms occur across the response. Examples include “other counters” where a plural subject needs a matching verb, “reduce number of smoker” without the necessary article and plural form, and “even though putting heavy fines government can reduce,” which lacks a complete, well-formed clause. Some long sentences also become difficult to follow because clauses are joined without clear grammatical control. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement, articles, plurals, and complete clause structures before adding further complexity.

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