Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-29

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 6.0)

In recent years, smoking has become a topic of debate. While some people believe that smoking is injurious to health, So it should be made illegal. However, I disagree with this statement as there are some other steps which will be required to cope with this problem, only labelling it as illegal will not solve the dilemma. In this essay I will discuss some other crucial steps.

Firstly, cigarettes can be smuggled. The addicts will choose any route to fulfill their needs and this will lead to illegal transport, which on the other hand will not cut off the hazardious effects of smoking in society. For instance, many cases of smuggling cigarettes were reported in last few years at Toronto airport.

On the contrary, increasing taxes on cigarettes making factories and on purchasing it will put financial burden on the producers and in this way its production will be reduced and making it difficult for consumers to buy.

Moreover, smoking should be limited to specific areas and must be prohibited in public places, this will suffocate smokers and they will leave smoking and it will not harm the non smokers.

Thirdly, government should take steps to aware public about the harmful effects of smoking on their lives. Different platforms can be used for the campaigns, educating people about their health and dangerous impacts of smoking will significantly reduce the cigarette consumption.

In the conclusion, labelling cigarettes illegal will lead to its smuggling, While increasing taxes on its production and consumption will reduce its purchase, and limiting it along with government campaigns will educate people and will be beneficial for their lives.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position ('I disagree with this statement') and proposes alternative measures instead of a total ban. All parts of the task are covered, as you examine why a ban might fail (smuggling) and offer alternative solutions such as taxation, designated areas, and public awareness campaigns. However, some ideas could be extended further; for instance, the point regarding smuggling is supported with a brief example, but the explanation of taxation is somewhat concise. Despite these minor limitations in full idea development, your position remains consistent throughout, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.5 or solid Band 6. Overall, the arguments presented are directly relevant to the debate surrounding smoking legislation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression of ideas. You use appropriate sequencing devices to guide the reader, such as 'Firstly', 'On the contrary', 'Moreover', and 'Thirdly'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct points, such as the discussion on smuggling versus taxation and educational campaigns. However, cohesion is occasionally mechanical or faulty, as seen in the sentence structure of your introduction ('While some people believe that smoking is injurious to health, So it should be made illegal') where punctuation and conjunctions disrupt the flow. Referencing is generally clear, but some transitional links between sentences could be smoother to achieve a higher band level.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'injurious to health', 'smuggled', 'financial burden', and 'consumption'. There are some attempts to use less common lexical items, but occasional inaccuracies occur in word choice and collocation, such as 'increasing taxes on cigarettes making factories' instead of manufacturing plants, and 'aware public' instead of raise public awareness. Spelling is generally accurate, and vocabulary errors do not impede communication, allowing the reader to easily follow your arguments. To improve further, focus on natural phrasing and collocation precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at conditional and multi-clause structures. However, there are notable grammatical errors and punctuation issues. For example, the sentence starting with 'While some people believe...' contains a fragment error ('So it should be made illegal') and misuse of capitalization and comma splices, particularly in the conclusion ('In the conclusion, labelling cigarettes illegal will lead to its smuggling, While increasing taxes...'). While simple sentences are generally accurate, errors persist in complex constructions, though they rarely impede overall communication. Improving punctuation control and avoiding sentence fragments will elevate your score.

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