Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Nowdays smoking is a common cause for ample of illness. Few people claim that if smoking is banned from the public areas, it will help many people to give up smoking. On other hand, some people denied it and say that we need more ways to discourage smoking among people. Before coming on my opinion, i would expain both views in the forthcoming paragraphs.

Firstly, people go to the shop to buy a cigrate packet everyday, who have smoking habit. They are usually do smoking near to shop or any other public places, which are near to cigrate store. They mostly avoid to do smoking at home due to some restriction. If authority banned the smokig at public property, it will encougrage them to avoid smoking, becuase they need to put so much efforts to do smoking. Moreover, some people are not aware about the side effects of smoking because they never think about it. If government put restriction on it, it will raise question in their mind that why authority did it. After that they will put efforts to research about the demerits of smoking. Eventually, It aids them to give up.

On the contrary, Some people say that it is good idea to surge the price of a cigrate packet almost 10 times of the normal price. It is tough for the people to afford it. it motivates them to change the habit. For example, In india, Government increase price of a cigrate almost 22 times higher than actual price. As a result, people stop buying ciagrates now, it almost 20 % lower than last year. Furthermore, few people say that education is key to reduce the number of smoker in the country. If student get all information about a cigrate with all side effects, it will encourage them to not to do during their adult life.

In conclusion, I firmly agree with the latter opinion than primary one. Because, People do it due to lake of awareness. If they get enough knowledge about everything during their childhood, It will help them to make a good person and citizen.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both views and state a clear preference for the second: “I firmly agree with the latter opinion.” The discussion of public-place restrictions gives relevant reasons, including the effort involved in finding somewhere to smoke and the possibility that restrictions prompt people to learn about health effects. You also offer other measures—higher prices and education—and support these with examples. However, some points are not fully developed: the claim about India’s price increase and a 20% fall in purchases needs clearer context or explanation, and the education point is brief. Your opinion would be stronger if you explained more directly why these measures are more effective than a public smoking ban, rather than relying mainly on lack of awareness as the cause of smoking.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, one paragraph for each view, and a conclusion. Signposts such as “Firstly,” “On the contrary,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the discussion. The ideas within the first body paragraph also progress from restrictions to their possible effects. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. “Before coming on my opinion” delays the argument without adding meaning, while “After that” does not clearly identify what smokers would do next. The second body paragraph combines price increases and education without explaining how these measures relate to each other. Use more precise referencing and develop a clearer link between each reason, its example, and your final position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “public areas,” “side effects,” “restriction,” “afford,” and “awareness,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. However, the range and control are limited by repeated basic wording and frequent spelling or word-choice errors, such as “cigrate,” “smokig,” “encougrage,” and “lake of awareness.” Several combinations are unnatural, including “surge the price” and “do smoking,” which can make the reader pause. Aim to learn accurate collocations for this topic and check spelling carefully. More precise terms such as “smoking ban,” “tobacco products,” and “health risks” would help you express the argument clearly without relying repeatedly on “people” and “do.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including conditional forms such as “If authority banned the smoking at public property, it will encourage them…” and clauses beginning with “because” and “which.” This gives the response some structural variety, and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, there are some recurring errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries. For example, “They are usually do smoking” should use a single verb pattern, and “Government increase price” needs a correctly formed subject and verb. Capitalisation is also inconsistent, as in “i” and “It” mid-sentence. Review conditional consistency, subject–verb agreement, and article use, then proofread punctuation and sentence openings.

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