Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-19

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)

Over the past few year, smoking become a serious threat for public health. Some people believe that prohibiting smoking is the most effective way to stop smoking habit. However other people argued that prohibiting smoking is not enough that measures are needed. In my opinion government should take a charge for this situation and that thing may change the scenario.

On the one hand, banning smoking in public places can bring several benefits. such restriction protect non-smoker such as children, elder people or pregnant women and many more. Smoking can cause several health problems such as breathing problems, lungs cancer, heart diseases, stroke and many more. If person smokes in public places that smoke may effect the non-smokers and cause serious health problems. Banning smoking is important in crowded areas such as restaurants, shopping centres and public transport stations, where people may be exposed to cigarette smoke against their wishes. For example if people are prohibited smoking in public places, they may reduce the cigarette consumption.

On the other hand, prohibiting smoking is not enough to solve the problem completely. It may reduce consumption but people may smoke in their home or any private place. Government should spread awareness about repercussion of smoking by educational campaigns and take some measures such as increasing tobacco taxes, restricting cigarette advertising and free or affordable counselling.

In conclusion, banning smoking in public places is an important step but it not eliminate the problem on its own. I believe that governments should take some measures to stop cigarette smoking completely.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both views and give a clear overall position: public-place restrictions are useful, but governments should also take further action. The first body paragraph explains how bans protect people from second-hand smoke and gives relevant examples of public settings; the second identifies awareness campaigns, higher taxes, advertising restrictions and counselling. This covers the task well. However, some points are asserted rather than fully explained. For instance, the claim that a ban may reduce cigarette consumption would be stronger if you explained how it changes smokers’ behaviour, and the additional measures are listed without showing how one or two could work. Develop these links and make your final opinion more specific to strengthen the response further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two contrasting body paragraphs signposted by “On the one hand” and “On the other hand,” and a conclusion. The ideas generally progress logically from the benefits of public bans to the need for broader measures, and examples such as restaurants and public transport help organise the first argument. Some connections are less smooth or precise, however. The introduction’s “that thing may change the scenario” does not clearly identify what action is meant, while “For example” introduces a prediction rather than a concrete example. The conclusion also repeats the main position without adding much synthesis. Use clearer references and connect each example directly to the point it supports.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “public health,” “educational campaigns,” “tobacco taxes,” “cigarette advertising” and “counselling,” which allows you to discuss both sides of the issue. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “prohibiting smoking” and “against their wishes.” However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or repetitive: “stop smoking habit,” “take a charge for this situation,” and “change the scenario” do not express the intended ideas naturally. “Repercussion” is also awkward in “awareness about repercussion of smoking.” Build a more precise range of common collocations and vary repeated forms of “smoking” and “measures”; this would make the argument clearer and more fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “If person smokes in public places…” and a contrastive sentence beginning “Although” is not needed to convey your main argument. Some sentence patterns are effective, and the overall meaning remains understandable. However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence boundaries recur: “Over the past few year, smoking become” needs a plural noun and a present-perfect verb, while “such restriction protect” has a singular/plural agreement problem. “If person smokes” also needs an article, and “it not eliminate” is missing an auxiliary. Review these core patterns and punctuation, then check each sentence for a complete verb phrase and agreement.

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