Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-31

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)

Health is wealth, in yester years, people income is low, therefore they do not smoke whereas nowsdays, people earn good money and now people smoke to much. Smoking is not good for our health, so discourage smoking some people thinked it is illegal in public places, on the other hand, other thinked only illegal in public places in not enough and that other measures are needed. I shall discuss both views in upcoming paragraph.

Illegal smoking in public places is good for the society for an example, in parks lots of childreen playing if people smoke there thats is not good for children health, children inheal the smoke and they learn wrong things. Moreover, smoking illegal in hospital also beacuse their are lots of patient and smoking is not good for them. Apart from this, smoking illegal in office also there are risk of fire.

Only illegal smoking in public places in not enough, it is correct. Government need to increase the taxes of smoking companies therefore the cost of smoke products will be increase and people reduce smoking. Besides this, awareness is very important in the soceity and country that smoking is not good for health for them and there family. Government should inrease the age 18 to 21 that any kind of tabacoo will not be sell.

In conclusion, it can be said that, the best way to discourage smoking is to make smoking illegal in public places. I am also agree with the other people opinion that is not enough and that other measures are needed likes increase taxes and awareness.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both views and give a position: you support making smoking illegal in public places while also agreeing that further measures are needed. The examples of children in parks, patients in hospitals and fire risks in offices are relevant, and you suggest higher taxes, awareness campaigns and raising the legal purchasing age. However, several points are asserted rather than explained—for example, how awareness would change behaviour—and your position could be developed more consistently. The response is 232 words, so it is 18 words below the 250-word minimum; the 32 words copied from the task prompt are not counted. Add relevant explanation or examples to develop your ideas and meet the required length.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, one paragraph for each view, and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “Apart from this,” and “Besides this” help signal additions. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, and some links are mechanical or do not show the relationship between ideas precisely. For instance, the opening moves from income to smoking without explaining the connection, while “therefore” in the taxes paragraph introduces an outcome but the sentence is difficult to follow. The conclusion repeats the main points rather than bringing them together clearly. Use topic sentences that state each paragraph’s central idea, then explain and support it in a logical sequence with clear references.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “illegal in public places,” “taxes,” “awareness,” and “risk of fire.” However, the range is limited and several inaccurate word choices, collocations and spelling errors make the writing less clear or natural. Examples include “people smoke to much,” “cost of smoke products,” “inheal the smoke,” and “tabacoo.” Some phrases, such as “Health is wealth,” are familiar but do not add precise meaning to this argument. Build a more accurate range of expressions for discussing policy and health, and check spelling and word forms. More precise vocabulary will help you explain how each proposed measure could discourage smoking.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to connect ideas in longer sentences using words such as “whereas,” “therefore” and “that,” but the range of sentence structures remains limited, and errors occur frequently. Verb forms and agreement are often inaccurate, as in “people income is low,” “people thinked,” and “the cost … will be increase.” Articles, plurals and sentence construction also need attention: “in hospital also beacuse their are lots of patient” is difficult to process. These errors sometimes make the intended meaning unclear, even though the overall argument can usually be understood. Practise accurate simple sentences first, then combine them using subordinate clauses. Pay particular attention to subject–verb agreement, past and present forms, and the structure of future statements.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.