Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Introduction : "Smoking can cause serious illnesses and should be made illegal" I completely agree with this point because it emerges several diseases like throught cance. r, lung cancer and many more.

Paragraph 1 : Smoking must be banned at least at public places because it not only harms the person doing this but also endangers the people around him as they inhale the smoke that's coming from him, so in my opinion even if it can't be made illegal, there should be strict action on the individual who does this in civil areas or anywhere there are persons present. Smoking entities not just increase risks geting disease for non-smokers

, they also presents a bad example for younger one's and push them towards a bad habit by showing them that they can smoke freely. Smoking is wrong in both ways scientifically, as well as morally.

Paragraph 2 : Even thought there are a lot of reasons to ban smoking, still it may not be possible to do so as it is a large source of income for government because cigrette companies pays high taxes. So in that case two things can be done to minimise no. of victims . Firstly smoking individual can be fined heavily for smoking in public, secondly taxes on these products can be increased, in that way these goods will become more expensive and it will decrease smoking to some extent as they won't get the same amount of cigarettes and tabacco they used to get.

Conclusion : In the stanzas written above we saw how smoking causes harm to public and why it should be made illegal but we found it might not be possible for authorities to completely ban this so we checked what measures could be taken to minimise it. First was asking smoker to pay penalty and second one was increasing prices.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by presenting a clear position on whether smoking should be made illegal. The writer introduces relevant ideas, such as health hazards for non-smokers, the bad example set for younger generations, and government tax revenue, which allows for a balanced discussion. However, some of these ideas are under-developed or lack extension. For instance, the point regarding government tax revenue is introduced in the second paragraph and quickly transitioned into alternative solutions without fully exploring the economic implications of banning tobacco. Similarly, the opening claim about specific illnesses like throat and lung cancer is mentioned briefly but not fully integrated into the broader argument. To move toward higher bands, the writer needs to extend and support all main points with more detailed explanations or concrete examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, demonstrating that the writer can structure a task response logically. Cohesive devices are employed to connect ideas, such as using 'Firstly' and 'secondly' to list alternative measures, and 'Even thought' to introduce a counterargument. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty, and referencing is not always clear. For example, referring to the conclusion as 'stanzas written above' is an inappropriate lexical choice for essay writing. Furthermore, paragraphing is somewhat unconventional, with the introduction labelled explicitly and body paragraphs functioning as single dense blocks rather than well-segregated thematic units. Improving the transition between sentences and ensuring precise cohesive referencing will enhance the overall flow and organizational structure.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The writer displays an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items and subject-specific terms such as 'government tax revenue', 'penalised heavily', and 'minimize no. of victims'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, word form, and spelling that reflect a limited and developing control of lexical features. Examples include spelling errors like 'throught cance. r' and 'cigrette', as well as collocation and grammatical form issues like 'risks geting disease', 'presents a bad example for younger one's', and 'smoking individual'. While these inaccuracies do not seriously impede communication, they restrict the score. To improve lexical resource, the writer should focus on precise word formation, correct spelling, and natural collocations when expressing complex ideas.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting multi-clause structures such as conditional and concessive clauses in sentences like 'even if it can't be made illegal, there should be strict action' and 'Even thought there are a lot of reasons to ban smoking, still it may not be possible'. However, there are some errors in grammar, punctuation, and article usage throughout the text, such as missing articles ('source of income for government'), incorrect prepositions, and punctuation flaws including rogue full stops within words. While these errors rarely impede overall comprehension, they prevent the writing from achieving a higher level of accuracy. To progress, the writer should refine complex sentence structures, ensure consistent subject-verb agreement, and pay closer attention to punctuation rules.

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