Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-08-11
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 5.5)
it is completely true that smoking can cause serious illnesses and should be made illegal . i completely agree with smoking cause serious diseases. this essay will examine both the points .
on the one hand, smoking is considered very harmful for our health ,it affect our internal organs such as lungs , throat . smoking plays a very major role in give birth to cancer's bacteria in our body. these days a significant number of individuals smoking and they are aware about that it has negative effect on our body. In many researches , it is clearly mentioned , people who do not smoke have higher chances to live long . as an example , people who do regular exercise and follow a proper diet is looks more younger than who smokes.
on the other hand , smoke should be made illegal, if the government made smoking illegal , it plays a crucial role in degrading the economy because government collect tax from product which is used in smoking. however, product like cigarette , hooka , and bidi are made from tobacco which directly affect our respiratory system. a major part of economy is depends on the smoking products.
it conclusion , smoking is the most dangerous substance for our body as a result government should take action on it to protect younger generation from it. in my opinion government should spread information about it to make people aware. declare smoking is not the solution , spreading knowledge about health is more better option.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt but lacks a consistent position. While you state you agree that smoking should be illegal in the introduction, the conclusion contradicts this by suggesting that 'declaring smoking is not the solution'. This inconsistency makes the overall argument unclear. Furthermore, the ideas are somewhat under-developed; for instance, the point about the economy is mentioned but not fully explained or linked back to the main argument. To improve, ensure your position is clearly maintained throughout the essay and provide more detailed support for your arguments, such as explaining why the economic impact might be outweighed by the health benefits.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organised into paragraphs, which is a positive step. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, 'in my opinion' is used in the conclusion to introduce a new point rather than a summary, and the transition 'in conclusion' is misspelled as 'it conclusion'. The flow between sentences is sometimes disjointed, making the progression of ideas feel a bit repetitive. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of linking words (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'nevertheless') and ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence that supports your overall thesis.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. You rely on basic terms like 'harmful', 'major role', and 'dangerous'. There are also some awkward collocations and word choice errors, such as 'give birth to cancer's bacteria' (which is scientifically inaccurate and linguistically unnatural) and 'is looks more younger'. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more academic vocabulary and precise collocations related to health and economics, such as 'detrimental effects', 'public health crisis', or 'fiscal revenue'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'individuals smoking', 'people... is looks'), missing articles, and incorrect punctuation (e.g., spaces before commas). The sentence 'if the government made smoking illegal , it plays a crucial role' shows a lack of control over conditional structures. To improve, focus on basic sentence construction, specifically ensuring that subjects and verbs agree and that tense usage is consistent throughout the essay.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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