Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-06

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 7.0)

There is currently a contentious argument over whether smoking can cause serious illness and shold be made illegal. I totally agree with this opinion because it is dangerous for an individuals health and has a direct impact on their overall well-being.

The main reason why I believe smoking is a primary catalyst for terminal illnesses, including lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases ( COPD ). To illustrate, accroding to health organizations, tobacco smoke contains numerous carcinogenic compounds that progressively damage respiratory and circulatory system. Furthermore, the addictive nature of nicotine traps individuals in a cycle of dependency, making it exceedingly difficult to quit without severe health concequences.Consequently, banning smoking would not only protect public health but also alleviate the overwhelming financial burden placed on healthcare systems by preventable tobacco-related diseases.

Another reason why I believesmoking should be prohibited is the severe danger of secondhand smoke to innocent bystanders. For example, Children and non-smokers who are frequently exposed to passive smoke inhale toxic chemicals that can trigger asthma, respiratory infections, and long-term health complications. Therefore, making smoking illegal is not just about personal health choices, but a necccessary measure to protect public safety and the well-being of the entire community.

In conclusion, I completely agree that smoking should be made illegal due to its severe health hazards, the dangers of seconhand smoke, and the heavy burden it places on public healthcare systems. Given this situation, it seems that governments have a responsibility to prohibit tobacco to protect the well-being of all citizens.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The response clearly addresses all parts of the task by taking a firm, well-supported position that smoking should be made illegal. The main arguments regarding terminal illnesses, the financial burden on healthcare systems, and the severe danger of secondhand smoke to innocent bystanders are well-extended and supported with logical explanations and examples, such as mentioning lung cancer and risks to children. However, there is a slight tendency to over-generalise regarding the direct prohibition of smoking, which prevents the response from reaching the highest band. The progression of ideas is logical, and the overall position remains clear and consistent throughout the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5

There is a clear logical organisation and progression throughout the essay. The writer makes good use of paragraphing, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct, central topic such as individual health consequences or secondhand smoke. Cohesive devices are used flexibly to connect ideas, as seen with transition words like 'Furthermore', 'Consequently', and 'Therefore'. Referencing is generally clear, and the overall arrangement is coherent. To move to the highest band, the integration of cohesive devices could be even more seamless and unobtrusive, avoiding any slight mechanical feel in the transition between the main body arguments.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary with some flexibility and precision, successfully using less common lexical items such as 'primary catalyst', 'terminal illnesses', 'cardiovascular diseases', and 'carcinogenic compounds'. There is a clear awareness of style appropriate for an academic task. However, there are a few spelling and typographical errors, such as 'shold', 'accroding', 'concequences', and 'seconhand', along with minor word-form slips like 'believesmoking'. These occasional errors and slips prevent the score from being higher, though they do not seriously impede communication and demonstrate an adequate to good attempt at sophisticated vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures effectively. There are frequent error-free sentences, alongside good control of grammar and punctuation overall. However, a few persistent errors remain, such as the missing auxiliary verb in 'The main reason why I believe smoking is...' (missing 'is' or phrasing imbalance), agreement issues in 'an individuals health' (missing apostrophe), and punctuation/spacing errors like 'COPD )'. Because the writer shows a good variety of complex structures and frequent error-free sentences, but still makes some persistent grammatical and punctuation errors that hold it back from full control, the response sits comfortably within this level.

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