Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-06

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 6.0)

It is undeniable that people are smoking more than ever before. Some people argue that smoking should be banned because it is causing serious illnesses. I completely agree with this notion and I will explain my reasons behind it in the upcoming paragraphs.

To begin with, there are numerous reasons why smoking should be made illegal. The first and foremost reason is that smoking is one of the main factors responsible for diseases like cancer, lung problems and heart diseases. Moreover, movies and television series are inspiring the young generations to smoke as it would make them cool and attractive. As a result, the number of smokers is increasing day by day. In fact, smoking is not only harming the smoker but also other people nearby as well. Hence, passive smoking is causing so much problems than we realize.

Apart from that, treating smoke-related illnesses burdens healthcare systems and taxpayers. In other words, numerous people are addicted to the smoking and treating them has become a hectic job for the health professionals. The government is also spending significant fund into treatment. However, a few people argue that banning smoking will not solve the problem as people will move to other addictive activities like alcohol or other drugs. In addition, banning smoking may backfire because it could create a black market, unsafe products or organized crime.

To conclude, although there are some drawbacks of banning the smoking, I still believe that it should be made illegal because it is causing numerous serious illnesses which are resulting in deaths.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have clearly stated your position in the introduction and maintained it throughout the essay. You addressed the prompt by discussing the health risks and the burden on the healthcare system. However, the development of your ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, while you mention that banning smoking might lead to a black market, you do not fully explore or refute this counter-argument in a way that strengthens your own position. To reach a higher band, ensure that each point is supported by more detailed explanation or specific examples rather than just listing them. The conclusion is a bit brief and could have better summarized the main arguments presented.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. You use cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Moreover', 'Apart from that', and 'To conclude' to signal the progression of your ideas. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For example, the transition between the health risks and the influence of media is slightly abrupt. Additionally, the use of referencing could be more precise to avoid repetition. Overall, the essay is easy to follow, and the paragraphing is appropriate for the task.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'undeniable', 'addicted', and 'healthcare systems'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For example, you wrote 'causing so much problems' (should be 'causing so many problems') and 'spending significant fund' (should be 'spending significant funds'). There is also some repetition of the word 'smoking' and 'addictive'. To improve, try to incorporate more precise synonyms and collocations to show a wider range of vocabulary, and pay closer attention to pluralization and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors throughout the text. For instance, 'the smoking' is used incorrectly in several places (e.g., 'addicted to the smoking'), and there are minor errors with articles and prepositions. You also have some issues with subject-verb agreement and pluralization, such as 'a few people argue' (which is fine) but 'causing so much problems' (incorrect). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on proofreading for small grammatical slips.

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

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