Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-21

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 4.5)

I agree, the best way to discourage smoking is to make it illegal in public places, where it is also a big factor for the government, as there will be conflicts and fights in public areas.

Making smoking legal in public areas- even it is restricted to smoking in public areas most of the people are doing it as they got used to it from a very long time.

Making smoking illegal in public areas: Many governments have banned people from smoking in public areas and imposed many restrictions and fines wherever applicable. In few places even the ban is imposed, most of the people smoke as they are used to it.

In my opinion, making smoking illegal does not solve the problem the government has to impose restrictions on tobacco companies and have to control the prices of it as it will give them an advantage to keep it under control. It has to take the initiative to bring awareness, schemes to make it illegal, and impose strict restrictions.

In Conclusion, making smoking illegal in public areas includes many setbacks, as it requires considering many laws and regulations and being ready to face the consequences and pressure from the public.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You give a clear opinion that public smoking should be prohibited, and you also suggest additional action, such as controlling tobacco companies and raising awareness. However, the discussion of the two views is very limited: the paragraph on legal restrictions mainly repeats that people continue smoking because they are accustomed to it, while the case for other measures is not explained with specific reasons or examples. The conclusion introduces the drawbacks of a ban without developing them or reconciling them with your stated opinion. The response is 192 words, so it is 58 words below the required minimum; this limits the space available to address and support the task. Develop each view with a reason and a relevant example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The response has a basic paragraph structure, moving from an opening opinion to two short discussion sections, your own view, and a conclusion. This gives the reader some sense of organisation. However, ideas are not arranged in a clear progression: the opening mentions conflicts and fights, but this point is not developed later, and the two sections labelled “Making smoking legal” and “Making smoking illegal” are difficult to follow because their claims overlap. The conclusion also introduces setbacks without linking them clearly to your position. Use topic sentences that state each paragraph’s main point, then connect reasons and examples with clear referencing and transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough basic topic vocabulary to communicate the general subject, including “banned,” “restrictions,” “fines,” “tobacco companies,” and “awareness.” Some wording is repetitive, particularly “public areas” and “making smoking illegal,” and several phrases are imprecise or unnatural, such as “a big factor for the government” and “schemes to make it illegal.” These choices make parts of the argument harder to interpret, although the main topic remains understandable. Aim for more precise collocations and vary repeated terms—for example, refer to “smoke-free public spaces” or “enforce a public smoking ban.” Check that each word expresses the intended relationship between the policy and its effects.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, including a conditional clause in “as there will be conflicts and fights in public areas.” However, the range is limited, and longer constructions are often difficult to control. For example, “In my opinion, making smoking illegal does not solve the problem the government has to impose restrictions” joins two independent ideas without suitable punctuation or a linking structure. In “it has to take the initiative,” the pronoun’s reference is unclear, and “even it is restricted to smoking” is not a well-formed clause. Practise separating complete ideas and using subordinate clauses accurately. More consistent sentence boundaries and clearer pronoun references would make your meaning easier to follow.

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