Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-08-31

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)

The idea of smoking being banned has sparked because it has detrimental effects on people's health has sparked a debate. However, I partially disagree with this move since cigarette sales contributes significantly to the revenue of the country.

On the one hand, the proponents of the idea of making smoking illegal believe that smoking ciggerates has negative impacts on the respiratory health of people. This habit not only affects the health of the smoker but also the passive smoker. Furthermore, such illnesses like lung cancer and bronchitis affect the productivity of people since they will spend much time looking for medication instead of being comitted in their workplaces. As a result, it negatively affects the economy of a country as many resources will be used in treatment of patients instead of focussing on development of infrastructure. Therefore, banning smoking can combat these problems and the country will perform well economically.

On the other hand, the opponents of making smoking a contraband habit hold a belief that smoking should be done in designated smoking zones because the sale of tobacco has a positive impact in the economy since the tax collected through its sale is important to the general well being of a country. Therefore, people should be allowed to smoke whatever they like at any time for the country to do well economically.

In conclusion, although smoking can cause serious diseases to its users this habit can also have harmful to the economy of the country. Nevertheless, people should smoke in given smoking areas in order to avoid harming children or other people around who may be passive smoked.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed the prompt by providing a clear position and supporting it with relevant arguments regarding health and economic impacts. However, the development of your ideas is somewhat inconsistent. For instance, your conclusion contradicts your introduction; while you initially state you 'partially disagree' with a ban, your conclusion focuses on regulating smoking rather than justifying the economic argument you raised earlier. To reach a higher band, ensure that your position is consistent throughout and that your supporting arguments are fully developed rather than just mentioned. The economic argument regarding tax revenue is relevant, but it could be strengthened with more specific reasoning on how that revenue benefits society compared to the costs of healthcare.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use transition signals such as 'On the one hand,' 'On the other hand,' and 'In conclusion' to guide the reader through your argument. However, some cohesive devices are used in a slightly mechanical or repetitive way. Additionally, there are minor issues with referencing; for example, in the final paragraph, the phrase 'this habit can also have harmful to the economy' is grammatically awkward and disrupts the flow of the argument. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence flows naturally into the next will help improve your score in this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'detrimental,' 'proponents,' and 'contraband.' However, there are several instances of word-choice errors and awkward collocations. For example, you use 'passive smoked' instead of 'passive smoking' or 'second-hand smoke,' and 'comitted in their workplaces' is not standard usage. Furthermore, the phrase 'making smoking a contraband habit' is slightly unnatural in this context. To improve, focus on learning common collocations and ensuring that words are used in their correct grammatical form. Expanding your vocabulary to include more precise academic terms would also be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is a positive step. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. For example, the opening sentence has a structural error: 'The idea of smoking being banned has sparked because it has detrimental effects on people's health has sparked a debate.' This is a run-on and repetitive structure. Other errors include subject-verb agreement issues, such as 'cigarette sales contributes' (should be 'contribute'), and missing articles or prepositions. While these errors do not completely prevent understanding, they occur frequently enough to limit your score. Focusing on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and sentence structure will lead to significant improvement.

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.