Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-10

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 5.0)

In recent years, smoking has become very common for some people, but there are very serious illnesses associated with it, and it should be made illegal. I fully agree with this statement. This essay discuss some reasons and talks about making it illegal.

There are several reasons behind it that make people ill, the first and foremost important reason is that a person who smokes will damage their lungs, and as a result, they will have difficulty breathing one day. For instance, some people, who smoke for a very long time start having breathing difficulties because their lungs are almost gone. Second reason for this is also not to be underestimated: the family of the person who smokes at home also have different types of problems because of the pollution of smoke in the air.

It is fully illegal, because there is no government permission to make it, because it contains tobacco and other harmful things which are not good for people, especially for kids.

In conclusion, after looking at the reasons and effects of this trend aforementioned, one is reach to a conclusion that people do not care about the environment or of children, so it may be banned.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your position is clear at the start: “I fully agree,” and you give relevant reasons, including harm to smokers’ lungs and the effects of second-hand smoke on family members. However, the response only partially develops the task. The claim that smoking “should be made illegal” is not supported with a clear explanation of how a ban would work or why it would be preferable to regulation, and the paragraph about legality is brief and confusing. The conclusion also shifts to a broad claim that people do not care about children or the environment. The response is 50 words below the required minimum, which limits the space available to explain and support your ideas. Develop each reason with a specific example and address the practical case for prohibition.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion, and the sequence from health effects to legality is broadly understandable. You also use signposts such as “For instance,” “Second reason” and “In conclusion.” However, progression is limited: the second body paragraph introduces the legality issue abruptly, without connecting it clearly to the health arguments, and the conclusion repeats the general position rather than drawing the points together. Some linking is mechanical or inaccurate, as in “the first and foremost important reason” and “Second reason for this.” Use a clearer paragraph plan, with one developed paragraph on health harms and another explaining why a legal ban is justified, then use linking phrases to show the relationship between claims.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “serious illnesses,” “lungs,” “breathing difficulties,” “pollution” and “harmful.” However, the range is limited and several expressions are imprecise or unnatural, which makes parts of the argument less clear. For example, “their lungs are almost gone” is an unclear way to describe damage, while “there is no government permission to make it” does not clearly express the legal point. Repetition of “people,” “reason” and “smokes” also restricts variety. Aim for more precise collocations and topic-specific terms, such as “lung damage,” “second-hand smoke” and “prohibit the sale of tobacco,” while checking that each phrase conveys your intended meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a cause-and-effect structure in “as a result, they will have difficulty breathing” and a relative clause beginning “who smokes.” However, the range is limited, and errors occur often enough to make some sentences awkward or difficult to follow. For example, “This essay discuss” has subject–verb disagreement, “the family … also have” has an agreement problem, and “one is reach to a conclusion” is not grammatically formed. The sentence beginning “It is fully illegal, because” also has unclear structure and repeated causal clauses. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement and verb forms, and build longer sentences around one clear main clause. Proofread punctuation and avoid joining several explanations with repeated “because.”

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