Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-10

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)

It is widely recognized that any kind of smoke is injurious to health which is considered to be the main cause of dangerous sickness to humankind. I firmly agree with the notion that the business of making any kind of cigarette should be completely banned and strict regulations should be implemented.

There is no wonder that using tobacco for pleasure is widespread across the world. And it is clearly affecting people’s health later in their life causing cancer and other deadly diseases. In addition, Unicef has covered nationwide surveys in the United States of America where they found out that, 3 out of 10 people are struggling with illnesses, which is roughly 30% of overall population of United States of America. Although, with the modern era technology, doctors these days have found a to fight with cancer but they are not being successful. Thus It should be avoided much as possible.

On the other hand, there is no way it should not be possible to even make illegally produced. And to make sure , Government holds the key to secure their people. For instance, Government should take full responsibility for any kind of tobacco. Although some of tobacco is still being used to make medicine but it contract shouldn’t allow to go any private company. Furthermore, it is an necessity to implement strict guidelines to whoever is or making tobacco products by implementing high fines for rest of their life.

To conclude, People indeed need to spread awareness to prevent smoking in society As well as , the government should organize a comprehensive plan to ensure hold they will take full responsibility that production is not being sold illegally.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of banning tobacco. However, the development of ideas is inconsistent. While the health risks are mentioned, the supporting evidence—such as the claim that 30% of the US population struggles with illness due to smoking—is vague and lacks logical integration. The second body paragraph is particularly problematic; it attempts to discuss government responsibility and medicinal use but becomes incoherent, making it difficult for the reader to follow the argument. To improve, ensure that each paragraph focuses on a single, well-supported idea that directly reinforces your stance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the flow of ideas is often disjointed. While some cohesive devices are used (e.g., 'In addition', 'On the other hand', 'To conclude'), they are sometimes used incorrectly or do not effectively link the sentences. For example, the transition into the second paragraph is abrupt, and the final paragraph contains fragmented thoughts. The referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the second body paragraph where the connection between government responsibility and medicinal tobacco is muddled. Improving the logical progression between sentences would significantly enhance the clarity of your argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. You rely on basic phrasing such as 'dangerous sickness' and 'using tobacco for pleasure'. There are also instances of awkward word choice, such as 'the business of making any kind of cigarette' and 'it contract shouldn’t allow to go any private company'. To reach a higher band, focus on using more sophisticated collocations and academic terminology, such as 'public health crisis' or 'stringent legislative measures', rather than repeating simple descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede communication. Issues include incorrect article usage ('the United States of America' vs 'the overall population'), subject-verb agreement, and awkward sentence construction, such as 'there is no way it should not be possible to even make illegally produced'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with unnecessary capitalization and comma placement errors. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the essay from reaching a higher band.

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