Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-09-09

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)

For decades people have been debating that smoking is a bad habit to take on and can cause negative effects to the human body, therefore it should be made illegal. From my opinion, I agree with this statement as much as people still continue to heavily consume cigarettes.

First of all, the biggest issue with smoking is that it can cause permanent illnesses to the body. For instance, smoking can lead to asthma, lung and kidney failures, bad coughing, cancer and other disfunctions to the body . This results in the smokers health declining and having a lower immunity over time. Not to mention that smokers can affect other people around them, making it risky for all age ranges.

Furthermore, smoking and cigars can be dangerous to the environment and pollute the atmosphere with smog. Even one lit cigarette thrown around can cause a whole forest to catch on fire. Also people who smoke make more waste and the smell of the smoke can be very disturbing for a lot of by-passers.

Some may say that it is fine to smoke as long as people don't do it in closed areas. Others may say that it helps them go on in difficult stages of their lives. Nonetheless, it is a no brainer that smoking will decrease their life span and later in life regret their choices.

In conclusion, smoking is one of the most dangerous habits people have and I agree that it should be banned permanently by the government. It doesn't bring any benefit for our health, only grows the addiction stronger.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout. The arguments regarding health risks and environmental impact are relevant, though they could be developed with more depth. For instance, the point about environmental damage is somewhat superficial and could be better linked to the broader debate on individual freedom versus government intervention. The conclusion reinforces the writer's stance effectively. To reach a higher band, the student should provide more nuanced analysis rather than listing points, as some ideas, such as the environmental impact of cigarettes, are slightly under-developed in terms of their logical connection to the argument for a total ban.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. Cohesive devices such as 'First of all', 'Furthermore', 'Nonetheless', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader through the argument. However, the transition between the environmental argument and the counter-argument in the fourth paragraph is slightly abrupt. Additionally, some referencing is a bit mechanical. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would help elevate the coherence of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey their meaning clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'disfunctions' (which is misspelled) and 'by-passers'. However, there are instances of imprecise word choice, such as 'heavily consume' instead of 'smoke' or 'use', and 'go on in difficult stages' which is vague. The range is sufficient to discuss the topic, but more precise academic collocations would improve the score. Spelling errors like 'disfunctions' (dysfunctions) slightly detract from the overall quality.

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 inaccuracies. For example, 'debating that smoking is' should be 'debating whether smoking is', and 'From my opinion' should be 'In my opinion'. There are also minor punctuation issues, such as the space before the period in 'body .'. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. The student demonstrates a reasonable command of grammar, but more consistent control over complex structures is needed.

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.