Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-20

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 it being noticable that smoking is harmful to health and cause various illness among people and the production of smoking products is illegal. I completely agree with this because most dangerous cause of smoking is cancer and sometimes it is untreatable.

To begin with, consuming smoking product target people's health and they face many health issues. To elaborate, individuals who consume cigarette face problem in breathing because it is made by tabacco that is cause of cancer and various other health issues and it can be spreading in family by smoking in front of them if this release in air and because of this they all face serious health problems. For example, In Indian 50% of people face cancer problems due to consumption of cigarette and tobacco. As a result, smoking puts people's health in danger, and they can not recover.

Moreover, to decrease the production of smoking products the government needs to take strict actions against it. To illustrate, companies who produce smoking products should be take approval from governments and and paste a warning on their products. if they do not follow these then their companies should be prohibited from selling their products in markets and also restricted from selling these products to children and youngsters. if they are caught to do these then their license will be cancelled as soon as possible and they have to pay a fine. For instance, A survey collected by Victoria University states that the Canadian government started a new rule regarding selling smoking products in markets and it decreased the consumption of smoking product by youngsters. Hence, making rules regarding selling smoking products is very beneficial for decreasing the consumption of these products,

In conclusion, smoking causes various health issues in individuals' families that are untreatable and by providing some rules and regulations, authorities of any country should control the consumption of smoking products among their citizens.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of making smoking illegal. However, the development of ideas is somewhat inconsistent. While the first body paragraph discusses health impacts, the second paragraph shifts focus toward government regulation and licensing rather than directly arguing why it should be illegal. The example regarding Canadian law is relevant, but the claim about 50% of people in India having cancer is a significant over-generalization that lacks credibility. To reach a higher band, you should ensure that every point directly supports your stance on the illegality of smoking and provide more nuanced, logical arguments rather than relying on potentially inaccurate statistics.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear introduction and conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or repetitive. Phrases like 'To begin with', 'To elaborate', and 'To illustrate' are used as a formulaic template, which can make the flow feel somewhat rigid. Additionally, some sentences are poorly connected, such as the transition between the health risks and the mention of family members. The referencing is occasionally unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the progression of your argument smoothly. Improving the variety and naturalness of your linking words will enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'smoking products' and 'health issues' repeatedly. There are also some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'consuming smoking product' instead of 'smoking cigarettes' or 'tobacco consumption'. Some errors, such as 'it it being noticable' and 'made by tabacco', indicate a limited control over word formation and spelling. To improve, focus on using more sophisticated synonyms and ensuring that your word choices are contextually appropriate and grammatically correct.

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 subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'smoking... cause various illness'), incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'should be take approval'), and missing articles or prepositions. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some run-on sentences and unnecessary commas. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. You should focus on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and ensuring that passive voice constructions are formed correctly.

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

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