Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-15

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 6.0)

It is true that smoking can cause life threatening health conditions and it should be banned. In my opinion, I firmly agree to this viewpoint. This is because tobacco can cause serious health issues such as respiratory diseases and lung cancer; however, banning it completely can arise another problem such as black market.

On the one hand, smoking is injurious to health. This is because excessive intake of tobacco may damage our respiratory system, which may cause lung cancer and asthma. Smoking in public areas are affecting non-smoker also on a larger scale because people can inhale smoke, which may cause breathing difficulties to passive smokers. Studies have shown that the rate of respiratory diseases are increasing day by day. Government should implement some strict law and should start awareness campaign against its harm-full effect.

On the other hand, some people believe that smoking should made illegal. If smoking will be banned entirely, it may arise another serious consequences such as illegal supplies, which can arise black market. Instead of making it illegal, government should increase the tax on every purchase and should invest in advertising the harm-full effect of smoking on health on each digital platform. For instance, in many countries, government have imposed strict fine on the individuals who smoke in public places. As a result, the ratio of non-smoker who were getting effected were declined.

In conclusion, although smoking can cause serious health concerns, making it illegal may arise other problems. I partially agree to the statement because smoking can arise life threatening conditions such as lung cancer but, making it illegal can arise black market.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you agree that smoking is harmful, but you do not support making it completely illegal because this could create a black market. You address both sides and give relevant points about respiratory illness, passive smoking, and possible illegal supply. However, some ideas are asserted rather than fully explained. For example, the claim that studies show respiratory diseases are increasing is not supported with a specific example, and the proposed tax and advertising measures are not developed enough to show how they would address smoking-related harm. The conclusion repeats your position but could more directly weigh the health benefits against the risks of prohibition. Develop each main reason with a clearer explanation or example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two contrasting body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The use of “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” makes the main stages easy to follow. Ideas within the paragraphs are generally relevant, but some links are mechanical or unclear. For instance, “This is because” is repeated, and the shift from the harms of smoking to government awareness campaigns is abrupt. In the second body paragraph, the example about fines and reduced effects on non-smokers does not clearly connect to the earlier proposal to raise taxes and advertise. Use more precise referencing and explain how each example supports the paragraph’s main point to make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “respiratory diseases,” “passive smokers,” “illegal supplies,” and “black market,” so the main ideas are communicated. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “imposed strict fine.” However, several word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems reduce precision: “arise another problem” is used where “create another problem” is needed, “harm-full” is misspelled and unnatural, and “getting effected” does not express the intended meaning accurately. Repetition of “serious,” “cause,” and “smoking” also limits variety. Build accuracy with common collocations and use a few precise alternatives, such as “prohibition,” “health risks,” and “enforcement,” where they fit naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “because,” “which,” and “although,” and the overall meaning is usually clear. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly with agreement, verb forms, and sentence construction. For example, “Smoking in public areas are affecting” should use a singular verb, while “smoking should made illegal” is missing an auxiliary. The conditional “If smoking will be banned” also needs a more appropriate verb form, and “the rate of respiratory diseases are” has a subject–verb agreement problem. Punctuation in the final sentence, especially the comma before “making it illegal,” is also awkward. Review these patterns and check each sentence’s subject and verb before submitting.

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