Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-09-05

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)

Nowadays smoking become more familiar among the people. Normally, cigarettes not being advertise in advertisement platform because of the serious illnesses.

Even though there is no advertisement but the smoker have increased day by day and many people affected by lung cancer and related illnesses.

The main reason for increasing smokers day by day is most of the movies have promoted smoking with disclaimer but people are avoiding disclaimer and attracted by smoking habits. It is an serious issues because youngsters age under 16 mostly addicted to smoking through the movies.

However, Selling the cigarettes to youngsters below 16 is prohibited some retail stores owners sell cigarettes to generate income.

To mitigate this issues and save the people from the lung cancer, mouth cancer and related illnesses, the cigarettes usage should be banned from the country and enforce a low to restrict the business.

In my personal experience, one of my friend started smoking at his early 15 and now he turns 35. Nowadays he is addicted to smoking and he must use cigarettes early in the morning to go to toilet otherwise he can't go to toilet. It is serious issue that he is facing mental issues also. He is trying to recover from himself but he couldn't.

In conclusion, smoking habits tends to physical and mental illnesses. The relevant authorities should take serious action to banned smoking. If not our future generations will face more consequences similar to the above mentioned illnesses. And also it is everyone's responsibility to say no to smoking.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of banning smoking. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention the influence of movies and the health risks, the arguments lack depth and academic rigor. The personal anecdote about your friend is relevant but occupies a significant portion of the essay, which detracts from a more balanced, analytical discussion of the societal implications of a total ban. To improve, focus on expanding your arguments with more generalized evidence or logical reasoning rather than relying on personal experience, and ensure all parts of the prompt are explored with equal weight.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of your argument. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or missing. For instance, transitions between sentences are sometimes abrupt, such as the shift from the movie argument to the retail store issue. Additionally, some sentences are fragmented or lack clear logical links to the previous thought. Improving the use of linking words (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'in contrast') would help create a smoother flow between your ideas and strengthen the overall structure of your argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is generally adequate to convey your meaning, but it lacks the precision and variety expected at higher bands. You rely on basic phrasing, such as 'serious illnesses' and 'serious issues', which are repeated throughout the text. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'enforce a low' (likely meaning 'law') and 'smoking become more familiar'. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use a wider range of topic-specific vocabulary and ensure that words are used in their correct context. Avoid repeating the same adjectives and try to incorporate more sophisticated synonyms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the reader's understanding. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'cigarettes not being advertise'), article usage, and sentence structure (e.g., 'smoking habits tends to physical'). There is a limited range of complex structures, and the attempts made often contain errors, such as 'he must use cigarettes early in the morning to go to toilet otherwise he can't go to toilet'. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, including correct verb tenses and pluralization, before attempting more complex grammatical forms.

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.