Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-17

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)

It is undeniable that tabacco consumption is one of the leading causes of preventable diseases and premature deaths worldwide. While some argue that criminalizing smoking would infrinage upon personal freedom and create economic challenge, i compeletely agree that smoking should be made illegal due ti it's devastating impact on public health and the immense financial burden it places on healthcare systems.

The primary reason why tobacco should be prohibated is the severe health risks it poses , not only to snmoker but also the genaral public. Cigarettes contain thousands of toxic chemicals that directly cause fatal conditions such as lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiovascular illnesses.

In addition to health concerns , the economic strain caused by tobacco-related illness justifies a totral ban . Goverments worldwide spend billion of dollars annually treading diseases that could have been easily avoided.

In conclusion , because smoking directly causes life-threatening medical conditions and drains vital public healthcare resources, it should be treated as an illegal activity.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your position is clear: you completely agree that smoking should be illegal, and you give two relevant reasons—serious health effects and pressure on healthcare budgets. However, the response addresses the task only partially because both reasons are asserted rather than sufficiently explained or supported. For example, you name several illnesses but do not show how this supports a legal ban rather than other measures, and the economic point is brief and general. The opposing view about personal freedom is mentioned in the introduction but not considered further. The response is also 85 words below the required minimum, leaving too little space to develop your argument. Add specific examples and explain why prohibition is justified despite the counterargument.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a recognisable overall arrangement: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present reasons, and a conclusion restates your position. The progression from health effects to economic costs is logical, and phrases such as “The primary reason” and “In addition” help signal the relationship between points. This clear structure meets the lower-band expectations and shows some features of stronger organisation. However, the paragraphs are very brief, so ideas do not develop into a sustained line of argument. The link between the evidence about diseases and the claim that smoking should be illegal is not made explicit. Develop each paragraph with explanation and an example, and connect the counterargument in the introduction to your response.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “preventable diseases,” “premature deaths,” “personal freedom,” “toxic chemicals,” and “healthcare systems.” These choices communicate the subject clearly and show an attempt to use more specific language than basic everyday terms. However, the range is limited by the short response, and noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce accuracy: “tabacco,” “infrinage,” “prohibated,” and “treading” appear to be intended as “tobacco,” “infringe,” “prohibited,” and “treating.” Some phrasing is also imprecise, such as “economic challenge” and “a total ban.” Check spelling carefully and choose natural collocations; expanding the argument would also give you more opportunity to demonstrate flexible vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both a complex opening sentence, using “While,” and a relative clause in “diseases that could have been easily avoided.” This shows some range beyond simple sentences, and the main argument remains understandable. However, control is inconsistent. In the opening, “i compeletely agree” needs a capital “I,” and “due ti it's devastating impact” contains an incorrect possessive construction; write “due to its devastating impact.” There are also problems with number and articles in “spend billion of dollars” and “to snmoker,” as well as spacing before punctuation. Most sentences are short, and the complex structures are not consistently controlled. Practise accurate possessives, articles, plurals, and punctuation, then use a wider range of sentence patterns.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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