Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-19

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 6.5)

Smoking can lead to serious health conditions and some people argue that it should be banned completely. I partially agree with this view that smoking is harmful to individuals and society, although I believe strict government regulations would be more practical than complete ban.

Firstly, smoking should be strictly restricted because it can cause serious health problems. Regular smokers are more prone to developing lung cancers or other serious illnesses. In addition to that, it also harms non-smokers through passive smoking which can lead to breathing difficulties. For example, a person who are regularly exposed to cigarette smoking may develop breathing issue like asthma. Therefore there should be strict restriction on smoking areas to protect smokers and non-smokers.

However, I do not believe that smoking should be completely illegal because people should have some freedom to make their own decisions on their personal choices. A complete ban could also encourage illegal sales and smuggling. For example, if cigarettes are completely banned, some smokers might purchase from black market or illegal shops. Therefore, governments should focus on imposing higher taxes, strict regulation about legal purchasing age, and smoking bans in public places rather than making it completely illegal.

In conclusion, I believe that smoking can cause serious illnesses to regular smokers as well as non smokers so there should be strict regulations to protect everyone. But making it completely illegal may make people buying from black market stores, which create other problems. Therefore providing strong education and strict regulations could be more practical.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by presenting a clear position on whether smoking should be made illegal. The writer partially agrees and presents well-developed arguments in both body paragraphs, discussing health hazards and passive smoking in the first, and personal freedom alongside black market concerns in the second. Ideas are extended and supported with relevant examples, such as how exposure to cigarette smoke can lead to asthma, and how a complete ban might encourage smuggling or illegal sales. The position remains clear and consistent throughout the essay. The task is fully covered, fulfilling the Band 7 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay displays a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, starting with an introduction that outlines the writer's stance, followed by two body paragraphs exploring opposing viewpoints, and ending with a concise conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'In addition to that', 'However', and 'Therefore' are used to guide the reader, although referencing is occasionally a bit repetitive. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, maintaining overall coherence well and matching the Band 7 criteria.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, allowing for some flexibility and precision. Phrases such as 'strict government regulations', 'passive smoking', 'personal freedom', and 'black market' show an awareness of appropriate collocation. However, there are a few minor lexical inaccuracies, such as 'people buying from black market stores' instead of 'purchasing from the black market', and 'breathing issue' instead of 'breathing issues'. Despite these occasional errors, the vocabulary is adequate to convey meaning clearly, fitting the Band 6.0 to 7.0 descriptor range, with 6.5 reflecting the slight slip in word choice.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms quite effectively, incorporating conditional structures and subordinate clauses ('if cigarettes are completely banned, some smokers might...'). However, there are a few noticeable grammatical errors, notably subject-verb agreement issues such as 'a person who are regularly exposed', and a missing article in 'breathing issue like asthma'. There is also a tense or agreement slip in the conclusion with 'which create other problems' instead of 'which creates'. These errors do not impede communication, placing the grammar firmly at Band 6.0.

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