Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-08-20

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 6.0)

In contemporary society, smoking has emerged as a highly debated issue. While a segment of people believed that it has a higher impact on society, others strongly oppose this notion. From my viewpoint, I strongly agree that it causes a serious illness because it offers a multitude of significant disadvantages.

To commence with, the compelling reason for supporting my viewpoint is that it badly affected an individual's health. When people inhale, it goes directly into their lungs and causes lung cancer. For example, a survey conducted in 2020 showed that 70% of people do smoke because they are overstressed or they have anxiety issues. In addition, mouth cancer has also become prevalent nowadays, and many hospitals are occupied with a lot of patients who are affected by this disease.

Another noteworthy justification is that people have no idea how they are putting their precious lives in danger. It should be prohibited by the government. They should pass a law that whoever sells cigarettes will be punished and sentenced to death. This would create a fear among the salesmen who are habitual of selling it Moreover, the authority should also start a campaign and tell each individual about its drawbacks, and it will not only create a sense of fear but also boost their knowledge.

To sum up, different types of electronic smoking are now being introduced by the companies, which are widely used in society. It is therefore, imperative for the regime to take a collective and proactive approach to handle these serious concern in a sustainable manner.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of banning smoking. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. While the health risks are mentioned, the argument for making it illegal is underdeveloped and relies on an extreme suggestion (death penalty for sellers), which lacks logical depth or real-world feasibility. The essay touches on the task requirements but fails to explore the complexities of the issue, such as personal freedom versus public health, or the economic impact of a ban. The conclusion introduces a new topic (electronic smoking) that was not previously discussed, which weakens the overall focus of the argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, and there is a logical progression of ideas. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To commence with', 'In addition', and 'To sum up', though some transitions feel a bit mechanical. The referencing is generally clear, although the connection between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother. The final paragraph introduces a new point about electronic cigarettes that does not follow logically from the previous argument about banning traditional cigarettes, which disrupts the coherence of the conclusion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'imperative', 'prevalent', and 'proactive'. However, there are also some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'habitual of selling it' (instead of 'accustomed to selling it') and 'serious concern' (should be plural 'concerns'). The range is sufficient to communicate the main points, but it lacks the precision and sophistication required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors throughout the text. For instance, 'a segment of people believed' (should be 'believe'), 'it badly affected' (should be 'it badly affects'), and 'create a fear among the salesmen' (should be 'create fear'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with missing commas before conjunctions. These errors are noticeable but do not significantly impede communication. To improve, the writer should focus on subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.