Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-10-09

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 5.0)

Nowadays, individuals are very addicted to do smoking, drinking alcohol and taking drugs. This habits are very unhealthy for them. Some people think that smoking can cause health problems which is very dangerous to health therefore that should be made illegal. I partially agree with the statement. In this essay I will discuss a few reasons for my opinion.

First of all, there might be a chance that people start avoiding to do smoking. In simple words, by making it an illegal retailer shops are stop selling cigarattes, therefore it directly reduce a number of people who do smoking. Secondly, it also increases the lifespan of people as it reduces the health problems which caused by smoking such as TB, cancer and a lung problems. For example, if it is illegal then new generation might do not know about smoking and it is good for them.

On the other hand, making it illegal might generate new uneathical activities. To simplify, people might start doing smoking in a shealter. Therefore it is necessary to

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You give a clear, though partial, position with “I partially agree,” and your first supporting point explains that a ban could reduce smoking and related illnesses. The examples of cancer and lung problems are relevant to the question. However, the response addresses the issue only partly: the opposing point about people smoking in shelters is introduced but left unfinished, so the extent of your disagreement is not explained. The claim that a new generation “might do not know about smoking” also needs clearer reasoning and support. The response contains 173 words, below the required 250, which limits the development of your position and examples. Complete both sides of the argument and explain why your view is partial rather than full agreement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some organisation: an introduction states your position, a first body paragraph gives reasons for a ban, and “On the other hand” signals a contrasting point. These features help the reader follow the basic direction of the response. However, there is no conclusion, and the final paragraph stops mid-sentence at “Therefore it is necessary to,” leaving the argument without a clear ending or overall progression. Linking phrases such as “First of all,” “Secondly,” and “To simplify” are used, but the connections between claims are sometimes mechanical or unclear. For example, the link between illegality and people smoking in a shelter needs explanation. Finish the counterargument, connect each example explicitly to your position, and add a concise concluding paragraph.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “illegal,” “lifespan,” “health problems,” “cancer,” and “lung problems,” so the main subject is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which can make the reader pause. Examples include “addicted to do smoking,” “illegal retailer shops,” and “a lung problems”; spelling errors such as “cigarattes” and “uneathical” also reduce accuracy. Some phrases, including “In simple words” and “To simplify,” are repeated in function and do not express the relationships precisely. Build a more accurate set of expressions for addiction, sales restrictions, health consequences, and illegal activity, and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, including a reason-and-result structure with “therefore,” and the overall meaning can usually be understood. However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently, particularly in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For instance, “This habits are” has incorrect agreement, “retailer shops are stop selling” combines verb forms incorrectly, and “it directly reduce” does not agree with its subject. The sentence “people might do not know” also uses an incorrect modal construction, while “health problems which caused by smoking” is missing a verb form. Practise building accurate sentences with modals, relative clauses, and cause-and-effect links, then proofread each sentence for subject–verb agreement and complete verb phrases.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.