Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-08-23

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)

The smoking is injurious to health and can cause life time health issues. The Government should take legal steps against the chain-smokers and the companies selling cigarettes to prevent the environment and the health of the people that are addicted to it.

The smoking can cause serious illness for life-span of the person who smokes cigarette in vast amount. On the daily basis, Many people expire due to the consumption of the cigarettes. The cigarettes can cause serious health problems such as: lungs cancer, sleeping illness, cough, severe lungs damage and breathing illness. Many chain-smokers are suffering from serious health issues on daily life but they can not quit this because they are addicted to it, they do not know that every cigarette is bringing their life towards death.

Simultaneously, the cigarettes are not only taking the life of the chain-smokers but it is also killing the environment gradually. Every cigarette-production company is cutting down hundred of thousands of trees per year due to the increasing number of the smokers. Nevertheless, the smoke produced by the cigarettes are killing the ozone layer of the Earth which is a protector of this beautiful world. The cigarettes are also effecting the nature which is causing air pollution brick-by-brick.

Consequently, the smokers are not just playing with their lives but also with the nature, the government should take legal actions not only against the smokers but also against the companies that are selling cigarettes.

"Nature is the mother, we are killing it mercilessly".

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that smoking should be illegal. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention health risks and environmental damage, the arguments are repetitive and lack depth. For instance, the claim that cigarette production is responsible for cutting down 'hundred of thousands of trees' is an unsupported generalization that lacks specific evidence or logical connection to the core argument. To reach a higher band, you should focus on developing your points with more nuanced reasoning, such as discussing the economic impact of a ban or the role of personal freedom versus public health, rather than listing health symptoms.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the flow of ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or slightly unnatural. For example, starting a paragraph with 'Simultaneously' does not accurately reflect the relationship between the ideas presented in the previous paragraph and the new one. Additionally, the referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the use of 'it' in 'they can not quit this because they are addicted to it', where the antecedent is slightly ambiguous. Improving the variety and precision of linking words would enhance the logical flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'serious illness' and 'health issues' multiple times. There are also some collocation errors, such as 'expire' (which is usually reserved for products or documents, not people) and 'effecting the nature' (where 'affecting' is the correct verb). To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary related to public policy, health, and environmental impact, and ensure that words are used in their correct context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include incorrect article usage (e.g., 'The smoking is injurious', 'the ozone layer of the Earth'), subject-verb agreement errors (e.g., 'the smoke produced by the cigarettes are'), and punctuation errors, such as the misuse of colons in lists. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on basic grammatical accuracy, particularly with articles and pluralization, is essential.

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

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