Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-10-01

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)

Smoking is widely recognized as a major cause of life-threatening diseases including lung, heart, and respiratory disorders; therefore, some argue that it should be prohibited by law. Although I strongly concur that smoking should be strictly controlled, I would not believe that the outright ban would be the most practical solution.

One compelling reason is that the considerable harm to both smokers and individuals around. Tobacco contains numerous toxic substances, and long-term smokers are significantly more likely to develop life-threatening diseases. Furthermore, passive smoking can also damage the health of non-smokers, particularly children. For instance, governments have a legitimate reason to introduce measures such as higher tobacco taxes, health warnings and smoking bans in public places. These policies can discourage people from taking up the habit while protecting others from smoke.

Nevertheless, making cigarette's completely illegal could create several issues. Initially, prohibition may encourage black market in which numerous tobacco products are available through uncertified channels and potentially rising criminal activities. To sum up, many smokers are addicted to nicotine and may find it extremely difficult to quit immediately. Moreover, governments should provide effective programs and public education, treating addiction solely as a criminal issue may be counterproductive. Whereas reducing smoking is undoubtedly essential, individuals should also be given appropriate support to overcome their dependence.

In conclusion, although smoking possesses a serious public health issue; consequently, government should take strong restriction regarding the utilization of smoking. I believe rather than imposing fully ban, a combination of supporting public education, higher taxes, and shared places in which smoking should be allowed would be a perfect approach.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your response addresses all parts of the task and presents a clear position throughout, acknowledging the severity of smoking while arguing against an outright ban. Your main ideas are relevant and supported, showing elements of a higher band by exploring both public health benefits and the negative consequences of prohibition, such as a potential black market. However, some ideas remain slightly under-developed; for instance, the point regarding passive smoking and children in the second paragraph is introduced but not fully extended. To reach the next level, you need to ensure that every main argument is followed by fully elaborated explanations and more specific supporting evidence rather than shifting quickly to the next point.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

You provide a coherent overall arrangement with a clear central topic for each paragraph, moving logically from your introduction to the health risks, the consequences of a ban, and finally your balanced conclusion. You make use of various cohesive devices to guide the reader, such as 'Furthermore', 'Nevertheless', and 'In conclusion'. However, cohesion can sometimes feel mechanical or slightly repetitive, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the dangling clause in the opening sentence of the second paragraph ('One compelling reason is that the considerable harm...'). Furthermore, paragraphing is generally appropriate, but the third paragraph contains a run of contrasting ideas regarding addiction and government programs that disrupt the smooth progression of your argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, successfully communicating your position with a range of standard terms such as 'life-threatening diseases', 'prohibited by law', and 'public health issue'. You also attempt less common and more specific vocabulary like 'uncertified channels', 'counterproductive', and 'outright ban'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and phrasing throughout your essay, such as writing 'cigarette's completely illegal' with an incorrect apostrophe, stating that smoking 'possesses a serious public health issue' instead of 'poses', and using 'shared places' when referring to smoking areas. These errors demonstrate an adequate range that allows you to make your point, but occasional lexical slips prevent your writing from achieving greater precision and fluency.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating subordinating clauses such as 'Although I strongly concur that...' and 'Whereas reducing smoking is undoubtedly essential...'. There are several grammatical errors and punctuation slips present throughout the text, including the tense error in 'I would not believe', the fragmented structure 'One compelling reason is that the considerable harm to both smokers and individuals around', and the comma splice in your concluding paragraph ('...smoking possesses a serious public health issue; consequently, government should take strong restriction...'). Additionally, there are minor issues with prepositions and noun phrases, such as 'taking up the habit' versus 'taking strong restriction regarding the utilization of smoking'. These errors do not impede communication, but they occur with enough frequency to keep your grammar score at this level.

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