Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-09-11

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)

It is often observed that smoking for a prolonged period can result in serious damage to health, which is why prohibiting its sales is a crucial step to take. Since people can hardly recover from the addiction to smoking, it is advised to avoid it entirely even if occassional smoking has less impact.

A common scenario is found that health condition of chain smokers seriously deteriorate and even cause fatailty. Irreversible diseases such as lung cancer, throat cancer, blood cancer and brain tumor are the results of continuous smoking. Although serious effects are already visible, people can not resist smoking in the way they are supposed to. Due to the presence of a chemical named nicotine, which triggers instant pleasure in brains, individual often try smoking to ease their stress and anxiety. Nevertheless, the chemical momentarily causes headaches and unpleasent feelings when people skip smoking. Thus, it becomes an unavoidable habit even if the smokers are aware of the negative effects.

To save people from this dangerous addiction, measure should be taken by the authority. Governments can ban the products from market. Additionally, illegal selling and purchasing should be monitored strictly in order to prevent smoking related health issues. Actions such as raids can also be performed frequently in suspected areas where smoking products might be found illegally.

In conclusion, following a strict path in order to iradicate smoking from the roots of the society is an emergency need. Plenty of lives are already under the threat of fatal diseases because of smoking.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of banning smoking. The ideas are relevant, particularly the discussion on the health impacts and the addictive nature of nicotine. However, the development is somewhat limited. While you mention that governments should ban products, you could have strengthened your argument by discussing the potential counter-arguments or the practical implications of such a ban (e.g., black markets or individual liberty). The response is just over the minimum length, which restricts the depth of your analysis. To reach a higher band, ensure you provide more nuanced reasoning or specific examples to support your claims.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'Nevertheless', 'Additionally', and 'Thus', to link your ideas. However, the flow between some sentences is slightly mechanical, and the transition between the health effects and the proposed government actions could be smoother. Referencing is generally clear, but there are instances where the connection between ideas could be more sophisticated. Overall, the structure is coherent and easy to follow, meeting the requirements for a Band 6.5 or 7.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'prolonged period', 'deteriorate', 'irreversible', and 'eradicate'. There are some spelling errors, such as 'occassional', 'fatailty', 'unpleasent', and 'iradicate', which slightly detract from the quality of the writing. While you attempt to use less common vocabulary, the errors in spelling and occasional awkward phrasing (e.g., 'smoking from the roots of the society') suggest a need for more precision. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, but it lacks the flexibility and accuracy required for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as the conditional 'if' clauses and relative clauses. However, there are several grammatical slips, including missing articles (e.g., 'measure should be taken', 'individual often try') and subject-verb agreement issues. Punctuation is generally functional, but some sentences are slightly clunky. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, particularly regarding pluralization and article usage.

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

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