Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-30

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 5.0)

Smoking is dangerous to health. Everyone is aware of this statement, but few people are ignoring it and become the victim of illnesses. I agree with the given statement and my inclination is justified in the ensuing paragraphs.

In the recent years, smoking has been observed as the biggest trend among all generations. Starting from younger to older person, everyone is smoking for fun. As per the recent report, it states that cigarattes industries have been growing tremendously. On the other side, health report states that there has been increasing number of death troll ratio due to smoking activities. Some people have another level of addiction. Their morning often starts with smoking and day ends with smoking too.

This not only cause problems to the smoker, but also affect surrounding people.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, reaching only 131 words. Consequently, the task is only partially addressed. While you state your agreement with the prompt, the ideas are significantly under-developed. You mention the health risks and the impact on others, but you do not provide sufficient supporting arguments or examples to justify your position in a balanced or thorough manner. To improve, you must expand each body paragraph with specific evidence, personal experience, or logical reasoning to fully explore the implications of making smoking illegal.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organized into short paragraphs, but the progression of ideas is limited due to the brevity of the text. There is a basic attempt at linking ideas, such as 'On the other side', but the overall structure lacks the depth required for a cohesive argument. The transition between the introduction and the body paragraphs is abrupt. To achieve a higher score, you should use a wider range of cohesive devices (e.g., 'furthermore', 'consequently', 'in contrast') to connect sentences and ideas more fluidly, ensuring that each paragraph develops a single, clear central theme.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for basic communication but lacks the range and precision expected for higher bands. You use some repetitive phrasing, such as 'smoking' and 'report'. There are also errors in collocation and word choice, such as 'death troll ratio' (likely meaning 'death toll') and 'cigarattes industries' (spelling error). To improve, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and ensure correct spelling. Expanding your range to include topic-specific collocations related to public health and legislation would significantly enhance your lexical profile.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. For example, 'few people are ignoring it and become the victim' contains tense inconsistency, and 'In the recent years' is an incorrect prepositional phrase. Additionally, 'This not only cause problems' lacks subject-verb agreement. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically subject-verb agreement and consistent verb tenses. Practicing the use of complex sentences with accurate punctuation will also help you move toward a higher band score.

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

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