Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-22
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)
Nowadays, due to busy and hectic work sechdule smoking and drinking became habit of people. Smoking should be legally banned became a debatable topic. I am totally agree to the statement and I would like to explain my view point in the upcoming paragraphs.
First of all, smoking should be illegal because it affects on lungs and chest. It can be a serious illness like Cancer. I have read so many news that people get mouth Cancer because of excessive amount of smoking. For example, If a old person smoke almost all day and at the end he will figure that about he has Cancer. Doctors always says do not smoke because its harmfull for the health.
Moreover, a smoker will suffer breathing problems. It damage their lungs reduce the immunity. Nowadays, youngsters use electronic device for smoking. Goverment should banned it for kids under 19 years because they are not capable of making good decision about their health. For example, Nowadays, younsters think this is so cool. If someone in their group do smoke they do not want to look separate from the group, so thats why they start smoking.
On the other hand, I would like to say that Goverment does not want to make it illegal because some people smoke to reduce their stress and anxiety. Some people think that they smoke to enhance their productivity and stay focus at work.
In conclusion, I would like to say that in some situations smoking can be dangerous for human and government should make a wise decision to make it illegal.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student addresses all parts of the task by taking a clear and direct position that smoking should be made illegal. The main body paragraphs present reasons supporting this stance, such as health risks like lung cancer and breathing problems, as well as addressing the peer pressure experienced by teenagers regarding electronic smoking devices. A counter-argument is also briefly acknowledged regarding stress relief. However, some ideas lack deep extension and rely on rather simplistic generalisations or repetitive examples, placing the response firmly at Band 6.0 in terms of task development.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, including an introduction, two body paragraphs supporting the author's view, a counter-argument paragraph, and a brief conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal transitions, such as 'First of all', 'Moreover', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and cohesion are at times mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'at the end he will figure that about he has Cancer', which disrupts the natural flow of ideas. Therefore, a Band 6.0 is appropriate.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student attempts some less common vocabulary relevant to the topic, such as 'anxiety', 'productivity', 'immunity', and 'electronic device'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice inaccuracies throughout the text, including 'sechdule' instead of schedule, 'harmfull', 'younsters', and awkward phrasing like 'excessive amount of smoking'. While the vocabulary is adequate to communicate the central arguments, these errors prevent the response from reaching a higher band, making Band 5.5 a fair and accurate assessment.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional forms ('If someone in their group do smoke...') and infinitive clauses. However, frequent grammatical and punctuation errors are present, including subject-verb agreement issues ('smoking and drinking became habit', 'Doctors always says', 'Goverment should banned'), missing articles, and awkward phrasing ('It affects on lungs'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to typify the Band 5.0 level.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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