Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-11-14

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 4.5)

First of all we all know smoking is prohibited for our health. In this generation smoking is increased which is creating the different types of diseases and indeed they are dying.

Smoking can destroy our life . Therefore people should stop these prohibited things . In this time many people are sick of many diseases and they are dying because of smoking . It can destroy the life also and the dream of family also . Not only smoking ,drinking alcohol also very dangerous for our health. Individuals know about the the illness of smoking and drinking but also they are not trying to stop smoking .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

The response is relevant to the topic and gives a general view that smoking is harmful and people should stop. It mentions illness, death and effects on family life, so the reader can identify the main concern. However, it does not clearly answer whether smoking should be made illegal: “people should stop” is not the same as stating a position on prohibition. The reasons are also asserted rather than explained, and there is no specific example or consideration of why making smoking illegal might or might not be appropriate. The response is substantially below the required 250 words, which leaves the task only minimally addressed. State your degree of agreement directly, then develop two reasons with explanation and relevant examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is a basic sequence: the opening identifies smoking as harmful, and the following sentences add consequences and mention alcohol. Simple links such as “Therefore” and “Not only” show an attempt to connect ideas. However, the response is not divided into clear paragraphs, and the ideas do not build into a sustained argument. Several points repeat the same claim—for example, “Smoking can destroy our life” and “It can destroy the life”—without adding explanation. The reference in “indeed they are dying” is also unclear. Organise the response into an introduction, separate reason paragraphs and a conclusion, and use linking expressions to show how each point supports your position rather than repeating it.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the central topic, with relevant words such as “diseases,” “illness,” “dangerous” and “family.” However, the range is limited and several expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, which reduces precision. For example, “prohibited for our health” does not express the intended meaning; “harmful to our health” would be clearer. “These prohibited things” is also an unsuitable description of smoking, particularly when the essay is discussing whether it should become illegal. Repetition of “destroy” and “many” further limits variety. Build a more precise topic vocabulary and choose collocations carefully, such as “cause serious illnesses,” “impose a ban” and “protect public health.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response uses mostly simple sentence patterns, but it also attempts some longer structures, including “Individuals know about the illness of smoking and drinking but also they are not trying to stop smoking.” The main message is generally understandable, and basic present-tense forms are often controlled. However, errors in sentence construction and punctuation occur, and the range of structures remains limited. For example, “In this generation smoking is increased” has an awkward passive construction, while “Not only smoking, drinking alcohol also…” is not formed as a complete, balanced sentence. There are also inconsistent spaces before punctuation and repeated “the” in “the the illness.” Practise accurate complex sentences and check each sentence for a complete grammatical structure and correct punctuation.

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