Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-10-20

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)

Smoking can cause serious illnesses and should be made illegal I strongly agree with this because,Smoking can pose threat to human health in various forms.Not only can this be of harm to the smokers but to the whole community at large.

One of the reason is that,smoking can lead to malfunctioning of the lungs and respiratory tract of the smoker. Lots of studies and research has also confirmed this.The role of lungs and respiratory tracts in human are numerous. For example,inhalation and exhalation. Subsequently,if the lung is damage,it primarily means death because there will decrease in rate of breathing in and out.

Moreover, this can also be deleterious to the the whole community at large as smokers releases harmful substances into the atmosphere.This causes environment pollution which is detrimental to human health.

Conclusively, i think government should implement and enact law prohibiting smoking not only in public places but it should also be considered as an illegal act all over the nation.

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AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your position is clear: you strongly agree that smoking should be illegal, and you give relevant reasons concerning damage to smokers’ lungs and harm to the wider community. However, the response addresses the issue only partially because both reasons are briefly stated rather than explained with specific support. For instance, the claim that lung damage “primarily means death” is too absolute and needs a more accurate explanation or example. You also do not explore possible counterarguments or clarify how a nationwide ban could be enforced. The response contains 153 words, so it is 97 words below the required minimum; the 10 words copied from the prompt are excluded. Develop each reason with explanation and a relevant example to address the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a recognisable overall arrangement: it states your view, presents two supporting points, and ends with a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “Moreover” and “Conclusively” help signal the movement between ideas, and the paragraphing separates the main points. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent overall organisation. To show more of the next level, make the progression within each paragraph clearer and use references more precisely. For example, “this” in “this can also be deleterious” could refer to smoking or lung damage, and the conclusion introduces a nationwide prohibition without developing that proposal earlier. Add explanation after each main point and connect it explicitly to your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for the topic and attempt some less common vocabulary, including “malfunctioning,” “deleterious,” and “detrimental.” These choices show an effort to express health and environmental consequences, and the main meaning remains understandable. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “pose threat,” “the role of lungs … are numerous,” and “environment pollution.” Repetition of “whole community at large” also limits flexibility. Aim for more natural topic-specific phrasing and check whether each expression fits its context. More precise vocabulary would help you explain the effects of smoking without relying on broad or overstated claims.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some complex structures, including “Not only can this be of harm … but …” and conditional phrasing with “if.” However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make parts of the response less clear. Examples include “One of the reason,” “the lung is damage,” and “smokers releases,” where number and verb forms are not controlled. Sentence boundaries and punctuation also need attention: the opening runs the task statement into your opinion, and commas are often attached incorrectly to the following word. Practise accurate simple sentences first, then build longer sentences with conjunctions. Check subject–verb agreement, articles, plurals, and punctuation during revision.

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

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