Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-08-06

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 5.0)

It is often argued that smoking can cause serious illnesses and should be made illegal, I strongly agree that with that statement because it is detrimental to health.

The primary reason why i agree with this statement is because of the diseases smoking can cause to the lungs and airways. For example, respiratory problems arise from smoking and can eventually lead to lung cancer in smokers.

Another significant reason is that teeth turn black and yellow from smoking which ruins the image of a person and a lot of odors from it can make it uncomfortable for other people to sit near them especially pregnant women or children may be affected by secondary air pollution.

for instance, air pollution is mostly caused by cars and factories releasing a lot of smoke and other chemicals into the air smoke from cigarettes is also a air pollutant that causes detrimental health issues to its population. examples of these air pollutants are co2 ,Sulphur dioxide , nicotine a highly addictive chemical in cigarette smoke, carbon monoxide and acetaldehydes plus benze in it etc.

In conclusion, i strongly agree that smoking can cause serious illnesses and should be made illegal. Because it has adverse effects both on environment and health of general public. therefore i belive that banning smoking has alot of advantages

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, which significantly impacts the development of ideas. While you clearly state your position, the arguments are under-developed. For instance, the point about teeth discoloration is somewhat superficial and lacks a strong connection to the broader argument of why smoking should be illegal. Furthermore, the discussion on air pollution is slightly tangential; while smoking releases chemicals, it is not the primary cause of environmental air pollution compared to industrial sources. To improve, you need to expand your arguments with more depth and ensure all points directly support the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. Some sentences are disjointed, and the transition between the health impacts and the environmental argument is abrupt. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'For example' and 'In conclusion', but they are sometimes used mechanically. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the paragraph discussing air pollution where the link between cigarette smoke and industrial pollution is not well-integrated. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring each paragraph has a clear, singular focus would enhance the flow of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You use some relevant terms like 'detrimental', 'respiratory problems', and 'addictive', but there are also spelling errors such as 'benze' (benzene) and 'belive' (believe). The repetition of simple structures and basic vocabulary limits your score. To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated collocations and ensure accurate spelling of technical terms. Avoid using informal phrasing and focus on using a wider variety of topic-specific vocabulary to express your ideas more clearly and professionally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede readability. Issues include comma splices, such as in the first sentence, and errors in subject-verb agreement and article usage (e.g., 'a air pollutant'). Punctuation is inconsistent, particularly with the use of commas and capitalization. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on sentence boundaries and proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy will help improve your score significantly.

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

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