Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-08-01

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)

I agree with the statement wholeheartedly and believe that smoking is one of the most dangerous activities a human can do.

It starts off slow. People begin to cough when the foreign substance enters their lungs. Regardless, they continue, choosing the rush of nicotine over heeding their body's cry for help.

Gradually, they become more accustomed to the intrusion, and as they do, they increase the frequency at which they smoke. This begins a downward spiral that ultimately leads to an addiction to what is essentialy a drug.

Many argue about if addiction is a disease or a choice. I argue that addiction begins with a choice that eventually leads to a dependency to the substance, to a point where they cannot go a single day without the help of their drug of choice.

Addiction is not the only major problem, an even scarier one- and one you can see physical signs of- is lung cancer. Majority of present day smokers end up as future patients in pulmonary oncology departments in hospitals across the globe.

I believe that lung cancer is a hidden problem. While there are a lot of advertisements, educational posters and initiatives taken up by governments around the world to caution humanity against usage of cigarettes, cigars and vapes, majority of the people I know, prefer not to think about lung cancer at all. They prefer to avoid the problem altogether.

One such example is my father. He refuses to even consider the fact that lung and jaw cancer are risks he exposes himself to with each cigarette he lights. People around him try to warn and advise him but he never heeds their advice.

When all is said and done, smokers ultimately face the consequences of their own actions with regret and shame, wishing they had abandoned the nasty habit before it had become an inescapable problem.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have clearly stated your position and maintained it throughout the essay. However, the task asks you to discuss 'to what extent' you agree, which implies a need for a more balanced or nuanced exploration of the arguments. While you focus heavily on the negative health impacts, you do not address the counter-arguments (such as individual liberty or economic impact) which would have allowed for a more comprehensive development of ideas. The essay is somewhat repetitive in its focus on the physical dangers of smoking. To reach a higher band, ensure you address the complexity of the prompt by acknowledging opposing views before refuting them.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized into distinct paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of the argument. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'Regardless', 'Gradually', and 'When all is said and done', to transition between ideas. However, the flow between some sentences feels a bit mechanical. For instance, the transition between the discussion of addiction and the discussion of lung cancer could be smoother. Additionally, the paragraphing is a bit fragmented, with several very short paragraphs that could be combined to improve the overall cohesion and logical progression of your argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'pulmonary oncology', 'dependency', and 'heeding'. There are some minor errors in word choice, such as 'essentialy' (spelling) and 'Majority of present day smokers' (missing article 'The'). While you attempt to use more sophisticated language, some phrasing remains slightly simplistic. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and ensuring accurate spelling. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, but it lacks the flexibility and precision required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'Many argue about if addiction is a disease or a choice' (should be 'whether'), and missing articles throughout the text (e.g., 'majority of the people'). Punctuation is generally functional, though there are some awkward uses of hyphens and commas. The errors present do not impede communication, but they do occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement, consistent use of articles, and refining your use of complex sentence structures.

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