Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Nowadays, smoking has become a major health concern in many countries. Some people believe that smoking should be made illegal because it can cause serious health issues. I strongly agree with this statement because smoking not only affects the health of smokers but also puts oher people's lives at risk.

Firstly, smoking is one of the main cause of serious diseases such as lung cancer, heart problems and breathing difficulties. Many people start smoking at a very young age without understanding it harmful effects. As a result, they become addicted and find it difficult to quit later in life. For example, many hostpitals treat patients who suffer form smoking-related illnesses. Therefore, making smoking illegal could discourage people from developing this harmful habit and improve public health.

Secondly, smoking does not only affect smokers but also harms people around them. When someone smokes in public places, other people may breathe in the harmful smoke. This is known as passive smoking, which can cause serious health issues, especially, for children and elder people. For instance, smoking near children can increase their risk of breathing problems. Therefore, banning smoking could help create a healthier and safer environment for everyone.

However, individuals argue that smoking is a personal choice and people should have the freedom to decide wheather they want to do or not. Although this argument is understandable, I believe that protecting public health is more important than allowing harmful activities.

In conclusion, I strongly agree that smoking should be made illegal because it causes imense health related issues and affects innocent people.Government should also introduce awareness programs and provide support to help people quit smoking.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear from the introduction to the conclusion: you strongly agree that smoking should be illegal. You address both the health risks to smokers and the harm caused to others, and support these points with relevant examples such as smoking near children and treating smoking-related illnesses. This meets the task well, with ideas extended and supported. To strengthen the response further, develop the case for making smoking illegal rather than mainly explaining why smoking is harmful. For example, you could consider how a ban might be enforced, or address the personal-freedom argument in more depth by explaining why restrictions would be justified. The counterargument is acknowledged, but its rebuttal is brief.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall progression: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present separate reasons, a counterargument is considered, and the conclusion restates your position. Paragraphing is appropriate, and signposts such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “However” help readers follow the argument. The examples generally appear in the paragraphs where they support the relevant point. To make cohesion more flexible, avoid relying so heavily on formulaic transitions and connect some ideas through clearer referencing or cause-and-effect links. The conclusion also moves quickly from the summary to government awareness programmes and quitting support, which are new proposals; linking these explicitly to your argument would make the ending feel more integrated.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “health concern,” “addicted,” “passive smoking,” and “public health,” and your meaning remains clear throughout. There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “smoking-related illnesses.” However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or imprecise, and spelling errors are noticeable: “oher,” “hostpitals,” “form,” “wheather,” and “imense.” Phrases such as “main cause of serious diseases” and “elder people” could be expressed more naturally. Aim to check spelling carefully and learn common collocations as complete phrases. More precise vocabulary for policy and regulation would also help you explain the proposed ban, rather than repeating general references to health issues and harm.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses such as “because it can cause serious health issues” and “When someone smokes in public places.” Most sentences communicate their meaning clearly, and the overall argument is easy to follow. Some grammatical errors remain, including subject–verb agreement in “one of the main cause,” a missing possessive in “understanding it harmful effects,” and an awkward construction in “people should have the freedom to decide wheather they want to do or not.” The final sentence also needs clearer punctuation between “people” and “Government.” To improve, check agreement, possessives, and the completeness of clauses, while continuing to use varied sentence structures. Your complex sentences show a useful foundation, but accuracy is not yet consistent.

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