Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

It is proved by many researchers and scientists that serious diseases can be caused by smoking. Hence, some people think that smoking should be illegal. Although, tobacco industry is one of the main contributing sectors of national economy, I believe that smoking should be banned in order to reduce air pollution and excessive pressure on the health sector.

Some supporters of prohibiting smoking point to air pollution as well as environmental pollution. Cigerette contains many harmful elements. During smoking, these objects spread in the air and pollutes the surronding air. As a consequence, due to containing hazardous particles, the air quality becomes poor. Moreover, the smoke irritates and causes harm to the people who dont smoke and the children. For instance, children may suffer from diseases such as asthma and breathing problem if their parents are chain smokers.

Another major drawback of smoking is that it can create pressure on health sector by spreading dangerous diseases such as cancer. A key element of tobacco leaves named nicotin causes damage in both lung and heart as well as the whole breathing system. As the treatment processes of these diseases are costly, people have to spend huge amount of money in the hospitals to survive. That creates pressure on families, basically on low income families. For example, in Bangladesh, many people get admitted to the hospital per year with the lung cancer and they continue their treatment by selling lands or taking loan.

Tobacco industries provide jobs for many individuals and pay high amount of taxes to the goverments to continue their business. Even though, these initiatives boost national economy, these industries cause incurable damage to the nation.

In conclusion, cigarette and other smoking equipments cause hazardous diseases and therefore, the governments should make this activity illegal to ensure citizens health safety.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear: you support making smoking illegal, and the introduction acknowledges the economic counterargument before stating your view. The response addresses the question with relevant reasons, including harm to non-smokers and children, pressure on healthcare, and the costs borne by families. The Bangladesh example gives the healthcare point a concrete illustration. These ideas are generally extended and supported, although some claims remain broad—for example, the assertion that smoking should be banned to reduce air pollution is not developed with specific explanation or evidence. The economic point is also mentioned but receives little discussion. Develop that counterargument and explain more precisely how prohibition would address the harms you identify to make the argument more fully supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two paragraphs presenting reasons, a paragraph acknowledging the economic benefit of tobacco industries, and a conclusion. The progression from pollution to health costs is easy to follow, and signposts such as “Moreover,” “Another major drawback,” and “In conclusion” help guide the reader. This coherent arrangement is a strength. However, some linking is mechanical, and the economic paragraph begins with “Even though” but does not clearly connect its point to the preceding discussion or explain the contrast in depth. References such as “these objects” and “these initiatives” are also not fully clear. Use more precise referencing and build smoother links between paragraphs to make cohesion less noticeable and more flexible.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “hazardous particles,” “air quality,” “health sector,” “incurable damage,” and “national economy.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and the meaning is generally clear. You also attempt less common terms, but some are inaccurate or do not collocate naturally: “Cigerette contains many harmful elements,” “nicotin,” and “high amount of taxes” weaken precision. There are spelling errors such as “surronding,” “goverments,” and “equipments,” alongside repeated use of general words such as “damage” and “diseases.” Check spelling carefully and learn common word partnerships—for example, “pay substantial taxes” and “place pressure on healthcare services”—to make your vocabulary more accurate and flexible.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “Although,” “As,” and “if,” and the main argument remains understandable. However, some errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles, and plurals reduce accuracy. For example, “Although, tobacco industry is…” is incorrectly punctuated and lacks an article; “these objects spread in the air and pollutes” has a subject–verb agreement error; and “people have to spend huge amount of money” needs an article before “huge amount.” The sentence beginning “Even though” is also incomplete as written because it lacks a main clause. Practise checking each sentence for a complete clause, subject–verb agreement, and article use, while retaining your attempts at complex structures.

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