Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-16

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)

I strongly agree that smoking should be banned because it can cause serious health issues. I will not only discuss my view points but also give relevant reasons and examples in following paragraphs.

All generations should be taken care of their health. Mostly young generations are getting influenced by smoking. The habit starts at the young age and a person becomes highly addicted to the smoking such as cigarettes. Eventually, it damages the lungs, heart and kidneys and ended up with full body damage. for example, if smoking cause the lung cancer, then it will comes with a lot of breathing issues and it invites many more lung diseases. These diseases are almost uncureable so, a person have ended up with either on multiple medication or death.

By prohibiting the selling of smoking items, It will automatically reduces the amount of smoker in the society. For instance, people who want to buy cigarettes but they cannot be able to get it because of ban, they cannot be habituated by the smoking. Also, there are alternative options are available such as fines on cigarettes purchase. This is the way banning of smoking material can give healthy life. Also, the boards on the walls, and pictures on the walls and the story of smoking can save them from a smoke.

In conclusion, I completely agree that smoking should be banned by introducing fine, this will help individuals for stop smoking and saves from the severe illness.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of banning smoking. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. While you mention health risks and the potential impact of a ban, the arguments lack depth and specific evidence. Furthermore, the response is under the 250-word minimum requirement, which negatively impacts the overall task completion. To improve, you should expand on your points with more detailed explanations or real-world examples, ensuring that you fully explore the implications of your argument to meet the length requirement and provide a more comprehensive discussion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate, such as 'ended up with full body damage' or 'the boards on the walls'. The progression of ideas is sometimes disjointed, particularly in the second paragraph where the transition between health risks and the conclusion is abrupt. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of linking words (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'in addition') and ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence that logically connects to the next.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for basic communication but lacks the precision and range expected at higher bands. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'habituated by the smoking' and 'uncureable'. You rely on simple, repetitive language to express complex ideas. To achieve a higher score, try to incorporate more sophisticated collocations and topic-specific vocabulary related to public health and policy, while ensuring that words are used in their correct context to avoid confusion.

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 clarity. Examples include 'if smoking cause the lung cancer, then it will comes with', 'a person have ended up', and 'It will automatically reduces'. These errors in subject-verb agreement and tense usage are persistent throughout the text. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors like pluralization and verb forms. Increasing the variety of complex structures while maintaining accuracy will also help raise your score.

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

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