Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-12

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 5.0)

Smoking has long been recognised as one of the lending causes of preventable diseases , including lung cancer , heart diseases ,and chronic respiratory illness . although i strongly agree thjat smoking poses a significant threat to public health, I do not believe that making completely illegal is the most effective solution.

On the one hand , there are compelling reasons to impose severe restrictions on smoking . cigarettes only harms smokers but also expose non-smoker to sand smoke to other part , which has been proven to increase the risk of serious health conditions. consequently , government are forced treating smoking related diseases ,placing in enormous pressure on public health system .furthermore , If smoking were prohibited on public places and it sale were tightly controlled , fewer young people develop nicotine addiction . for example, many countries have witnessed a decline in smoking related after introducing higher tobacco taxes , plain paclaging and comprehensive advertising bans.

In opinion , government shgo

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response is significantly under-length at 163 words, failing to meet the 250-word minimum requirement. This severely impacts the development of ideas, as the essay is incomplete and cuts off mid-sentence in the third paragraph. While you establish a clear position in the introduction, the arguments are not fully extended or supported due to the lack of length. To improve, you must ensure you provide a full, structured essay that explores the topic in depth, including a clear conclusion. Currently, the task is only partially addressed because the response is unfinished.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay shows some attempt at logical organization, using transition signals like 'On the one hand' and 'consequently' to connect ideas. However, the abrupt ending and the incomplete nature of the final paragraph disrupt the overall flow and coherence. Paragraphing is present, but the lack of a completed argument structure makes the progression of ideas feel mechanical and unfinished. To reach a higher band, ensure that each paragraph is fully developed and that the essay reaches a logical conclusion, rather than ending mid-sentence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'preventable diseases,' 'nicotine addiction,' and 'comprehensive advertising bans.' However, there are several noticeable errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'lending' instead of 'leading,' 'sand smoke' instead of 'second-hand smoke,' and 'paclaging.' These errors, while not always impeding communication, are frequent enough to limit the score. To improve, focus on proofreading for spelling and ensuring that collocations are accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Examples include 'government are forced treating' (should be 'governments are forced to treat'), 'cigarettes only harms' (subject-verb agreement error), and 'If smoking were prohibited on public places' (preposition error: 'in' public places). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with frequent spacing errors before commas. These errors are noticeable and occasionally distract the reader. Increasing the accuracy of basic sentence construction and proofreading for subject-verb agreement will help improve your score.

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

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