Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-09-27

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)

Some people argues that smoking is injurious to health and this activity should be banned. While smoking is poisonous for our internal organs and disturbs nearby non-smokers, directly making it illegal would be an unfair decision.

People from various ages are addicted to smoking. Some people started it as a new experience, while others found it very common to not starting smoking after a certain age. Reports stated that, people found it a very enjoyable activity. Poverty and illiteracy is also another cause of smoking in the developing countries. In some foreign countries, people can't smoke in public. They have their own dedicated places in office, roads, markets where they can freely smoke without bothering anyone. By contrast, countries like the India, Bangladesh, Pakistan etc. doesn't have any kind of restrictions. People can openly smoke anywhere they want.

From my perspective, I think making strict regulations and proper law enforcement is an acceptable solution. By increasing the market price, people will be forced to smoke less than average, while it will also contribute to our economy. Another idea is to stop people from smoking in public. Local governments, pollitical leaders and businessmen can build dedicated spaces for smoking. Also, we should launch different educational programs to demotivate people from smoking.

In conclusion, there is no doubt smoking is harmful for our health but people should be aware of their surroundings while smoking. Both the government and the citizens should work together to control this activity for a regulated, clean and sustainable country.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing whether smoking should be made illegal and presenting a clear position that while harmful, a total ban is unfair and regulation is better. Ideas are generally relevant, but some points in the second body paragraph, such as the mention of poverty and illiteracy as causes of smoking, are somewhat underdeveloped and loosely connected to the main argument. The position is maintained throughout, and supporting ideas regarding economic contributions and dedicated smoking areas are provided. However, the development tends to generalize rather than fully explore deeper arguments. This performance aligns well with Band 6.5, but rounded to the whole band descriptor for IELTS reporting, it fits Band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is organized into clear paragraphs, with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. There is a logical progression of ideas from the discussion of causes and public smoking to potential solutions. Cohesive devices such as 'While', 'In some foreign countries', 'By contrast', and 'In conclusion' are used to connect ideas, though referencing and transitional links can occasionally feel a bit mechanical ('Another idea is to stop people...'). Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct themes, such as public policies versus personal perspectives. Overall, the essay maintains a coherent arrangement that allows the reader to follow the argument easily, meeting the standard for a Band 6.5 or solid 6.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'injurious', 'demotivate', and 'sustainable'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'Some people argues' (subject-verb agreement), 'to not starting smoking' (incorrect gerund form), and referring to 'the India'. Spelling and word choice errors do not impede communication, but they restrict the score. The vocabulary is generally functional and minimally adequate to convey meaning, fitting the criteria for Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional and contrastive structures like 'While smoking is poisonous... directly making it illegal would be an unfair decision.' However, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'Some people argues' (singular/plural mismatch), 'Poverty and illiteracy is' (verb agreement), and incorrect article usage like 'countries like the India'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. The errors rarely impede overall communication, but they prevent the essay from reaching a higher band score, placing it firmly at Band 6.

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