Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-19

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)

There are many thing in this world which is dangerous to health like smoking, alcohol, drugs etc. Over 50 millions of people are suffering from many life threatening conditions like mouth cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer and the data goes on but the most important part is the reason behind this any kind of bad habit and as we all know most major bad habits is nowadays is smoking. I strongly believe that government should banned this dangerous products from entire world or else impose hefty fine on those company who making these products.

firstly, we need to understand why people smoke and types of smoke. If we asked the reason to any smoker their standard answer is it helps them to reduce stress in extend that's true because while you smoke it release some chemicals to mind which signals mind to release the dopamine to body and that dopamine release stress for person's body and our mind thought that because of I smoke I reduced stress in my body and this is pattern understand by mind after that mind stop produce or release that dopamine to body without smoking. furthermore there are many types of smoking option available today for example, in older generation people used to with pipes and cigars then in 80's or 90's cigarettes came which is very popular and now in modern world vapes came which is major popular in teenagers due odorless smoke.

Now we will understand what causes people suffering form smoking. As we all know most common cause is cancer but cancer is not the only cause it is ultimate cause but other factors are also seeing in todays like obesity, hyper-tension, mood swings, irritation, breathing problems, low physical health and strength and many others. for example, i used to smoke one pack of cigarettes in a day at that time i tried to reduce my weight but somehow I did not reduce a single pound then my coach told me to quit smoking. After quitting i reduced my weight unbelievably and also now i breath properly. Most importantly feel energetic whole day.

To sum up, i only said that there are only adverse effects to smoking. there is no good sign or benefits of doing that so government should banned it and declare it as illegal substance.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that smoking should be illegal. However, the development of ideas is inconsistent. While you provide a personal anecdote regarding weight loss and health, the explanation of the physiological process of smoking (dopamine/stress) is somewhat confused and lacks clarity. The argument for banning smoking is presented, but it could be more effectively supported by discussing the broader societal or economic implications rather than focusing primarily on individual health effects. The response covers all parts of the task, but the depth of argument is limited, placing it in the mid-range.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, phrases like 'the data goes on but the most important part is' and 'this is pattern understand by mind' create awkward transitions that impede the flow of ideas. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the logical progression between sentences is occasionally disrupted by grammatical errors. While the overall arrangement is coherent, the lack of sophisticated linking words and the repetitive nature of some transitions limit the score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'life-threatening', 'dopamine', and 'adverse effects'. However, there are frequent errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'government should banned this dangerous products' (should ban these dangerous products) and 'major popular' (very popular). Some phrasing is unnatural, such as 'the data goes on' or 'in extend that's true'. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning, the errors are noticeable and occasionally distract the reader, preventing a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay relies heavily on simple sentence structures, and attempts at complex sentences are frequently marred by grammatical errors. There are consistent issues with subject-verb agreement ('most major bad habits is', 'government should banned'), article usage, and tense consistency. Punctuation is also problematic, with many run-on sentences and missing commas. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar structures significantly impacts the overall quality of the writing. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and proofreading for subject-verb agreement.

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