Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-26

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 7.0)

Smoking is a major cause of serious health problems, including lung cancer, heart disease and respiratory illnesses. Some people believe that smoking should therefore be made illegal. Although I agree that smoking is extremely harmful, I disagree that it should be completely banned.

There are several reasons why governments should continue to control smoking rather than prohibit it entirely. First, adults should have some freedom to make their own decisions, even when those decisions may be harmful to their health. Making cigarettes illegal could also create a black market, where tobacco products are sold without quality controls. This could make the situation even more difficult for governments to manage. Furthermore, a complete ban could encourage some smokers to buy illegal products, resulting in increased criminal activity.

Instead of banning cigarettes, governments can introduce stricter measures to reduce smoking. For example, they can increase tobacco taxes, prohibit smoking in public places and impose severe penalties on businesses that sell cigarettes to minors. Public awareness campaigns can also educate people about the dangers of smoking. These measures can reduce the number of smokers while allowing governments to control tobacco sales legally.

In conclusion, although smoking causes serious illnesses and should be strongly regulated, I do not believe that it should be made completely illegal. Strict laws, higher taxes and public education would be more practical ways to reduce smoking and protect public health.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have clearly addressed the prompt by taking a balanced position, acknowledging the dangers of smoking while arguing against a total ban. Your ideas are relevant and logically developed, particularly in your discussion of black markets and government regulation. However, the response is 231 words long, which falls short of the 250-word minimum requirement. This under-length significantly impacts your score, as it prevents you from fully expanding on your arguments or providing more detailed examples. To improve, ensure you reach the word count by adding a specific personal example or a more detailed explanation of the potential economic impact of a ban.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

Your essay is well-structured with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The logical progression of ideas is easy to follow, and you use cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'Instead of', and 'In conclusion' effectively to link your points. Each paragraph has a clear central theme, which helps the reader navigate your argument. The flow is natural and the paragraphing is appropriate for the task. To reach a higher band, you could incorporate a wider variety of cohesive devices to connect sentences more fluidly, though your current usage is already quite effective and clear.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary appropriate for the topic, using terms like 'respiratory illnesses', 'prohibit', 'quality controls', and 'public awareness campaigns'. Your word choice is generally accurate and helps convey your meaning clearly. There are no significant spelling or word-choice errors. To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated or less common collocations to demonstrate a wider range. For example, instead of 'make the situation even more difficult', you could use 'exacerbate the issue'. Overall, your lexical control is solid and supports your argument well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

Your grammar is strong, with a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures. You use conditional structures ('even when those decisions may be harmful') and modal verbs ('should be', 'can introduce') correctly. The punctuation is accurate, and there are very few grammatical errors throughout the text. The sentences are generally error-free, which makes the essay very readable. To aim for a higher band, you could experiment with more advanced grammatical structures, such as inversion or more complex passive constructions, to show greater flexibility in your writing.

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

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