Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-06

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Smoking can cause serious illnesses and should be made illegal.

To what extent do you agree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Nowadays, smoking is a major concern for causing the chronic diseases. It is considered that smoking should be declared as an illegal activity by the government. I am completely agree with this statement and give my supporting reasons in the upcoming paragraphs.

First of all, cigarette can cause serious health problems like lung and mouth cancer, respiratory issues etc. Therefore, long term usages may cause the death in certain cases. As a result, it will effect the familial circle. Secondly, it will not only affect the person who is doing the smoking, but other persons too who are in the surrounding of that particular person when they come in the contact of that polluted air or smoke. Moreover, it pours negative impression on the young generation too because many children start imitating in the same manner as they see their parents. Hence, it will be really harmful for all sorts of ages.

However, the usage of cigar should be illegal in public places. New policies and guidelines should be issued by the government and public bodies. For example, Japan made a law in 2004, to ban the usage of smoking in all transport vehicles and in waiting lounges. Furthermore, the schools and public enterprise should raise awareness among the youth regarding the deleterious effects of smoking on health and environment by organizing the campagne. It should be illegal at all the places except some specified constructed smoke zones where one can smoke in a disciplined manner.

To recapitulate, smoking is a major concern because it causes many serious health problems. To mitigate this issue, the government should construct the laws and certain restrictions to create the balanced and safer society.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that smoking should be illegal. The ideas are relevant, covering health risks, second-hand smoke, and the influence on youth. However, the development is somewhat inconsistent. While the first body paragraph provides reasons, the second paragraph shifts focus from a total ban to a partial ban in public places, which slightly contradicts the initial 'completely agree' stance. To reach a higher band, ensure that the supporting arguments consistently reinforce the main position throughout the essay. The conclusion is clear, but the overall development of ideas could be more nuanced to fully explore the implications of such a significant legal change.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. Cohesive devices such as 'First of all', 'Secondly', 'Moreover', and 'To recapitulate' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the logical flow between the argument for a total ban and the suggestion for 'smoke zones' is a bit disjointed. Referencing is generally clear, though the connection between the ideas in the second paragraph could be strengthened to improve the overall progression of the argument. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, body, and conclusion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'deleterious' and 'mitigate', which are used correctly. However, there are instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'pours negative impression' (should be 'leaves a negative impression') and 'doing the smoking' (should be 'smoking'). Spelling is generally accurate, but the range of vocabulary is somewhat limited, relying on basic descriptors. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and a wider variety of academic vocabulary to convey ideas with greater sophistication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that persist throughout the text. Examples include 'I am completely agree' (should be 'I completely agree'), 'it will effect the familial circle' (should be 'affect'), and 'come in the contact of' (should be 'come into contact with'). Punctuation is mostly correct, but there are minor errors in article usage and prepositional phrases. The majority of sentences are understandable, but the frequency of these small errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct verb forms will help improve accuracy.

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