Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-29

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 is no doubt that smoking has a significant on individuals and society. People have different views about this issue, and both side have reasonable arguments. Smoking can effect human body badly and causes serious health problems. Most benefits come from government and individuals combining work.

One important factor behind this trend is the rapid change of modern society. People have to work long time in workplace and often have family pressure. They try to relief form these problem by smoking. But it creates several health issue like respiratory diseases such as asthma ,bronchitis ,heart problem and other chronic problems. Sometimes it leads to cancer. As a result, the treatment expenses made a burden for family as well as government. This would be unbearable for a unsmoked person when a smokers smoke in public places. It also create a bad impact on children physical and mental health. For example when a father smoke IN front his children the smoke automatically enter their body and create same health problems . For all of this issue everyone should take step to ban smocking.

government and individuals both should take responsible step to reduce this problem. Government can take different septs like making parks , building cycling path and improving public sports facilities. This would be help individuals to stay connected with outdoor activities. Government can also run campaigning to encourages people to leave smoking. schools can play a vital role on this issue. teachers can teach children about the bad effect of smoking from their early age.

In conclusion, the most effective solution is to combine government action and individuals responsibility. If the right steps are taken, smoking will be reduce from society .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the health risks of smoking and suggesting solutions. However, the position is not fully developed. While you argue that smoking should be banned, the essay lacks a clear, consistent stance on the 'extent' of your agreement. The ideas are relevant, but the explanation of why it should be illegal is somewhat superficial, focusing more on the health consequences than the feasibility or implications of a total ban. To improve, ensure you clearly state your position in the introduction and provide more nuanced arguments that directly address the 'extent' of your agreement throughout the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or missing. For instance, the transition between the health issues and the government's role is abrupt. There are also some issues with referencing; for example, 'For all of this issue' is grammatically awkward and does not effectively link back to the previous points. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would significantly enhance the flow and coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, but there are frequent errors in word choice and collocation that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'effect' used instead of 'affect', 'unsmoked person' instead of 'non-smoker', and 'septs' instead of 'steps'. While you attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'respiratory diseases' and 'chronic problems', the overall control is inconsistent. To reach a higher band, focus on learning the correct word forms and collocations, and proofread carefully to avoid simple spelling and word-choice errors that detract from your message.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('smokers smoke', 'smoking will be reduce'), missing articles ('in front his children'), and incorrect verb forms ('treatment expenses made a burden'). While these errors do not completely prevent the reader from understanding your points, they are frequent enough to be distracting. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, particularly verb tenses and the correct use of articles, before attempting more complex structures.

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