Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-21

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 often debated that smoking is injurious to health and cause serious health issues and should be made illegal. I strongly agree with this statement and the reasons supporting my rationale will be discussed in the upcoming paragraphs.

Firstly, smoking can raise some serious health concerns and health is the basic key to survive, despite knowing this numerous people are consuming it. One of the major reasons of consuming tobacco is addiction and after this many people find it cheap. In few years, it becomes so common in different forms such as drugs, injections and many more. Furthermore usage of nicotine spreading in adults as well as in children which make them addict and they started dependent on them. For instance, a vast majority of men who are on the consumption of tobacco, it can destroy their health and cause lungs cancer, diabetes. Moreover, it has a bad impact on their families and they can face financial instability therefore smoking kills.

Secondly, Government should take a legal action against the suppliers and arrest the groups who smuggle this and pass it on. It should be illegal for everyone because it is one of the easiest way to ruin your health, its additive cheap and for teenagers it seems to be fun that taking drugs .The state should inspect the shops and dealers to ensure the safety and do campaigns for awareness. Drug rehabilitation centre should be made, these centres helps the addicts to control their thrive and with proper medical treatment they can be recover. Therefore, smoking is not a habit it a danger and it can cause multiple diseases.

In conclusion, smoking harms nearly every part of the body and cause diseases therefore, it should be illegal and banned because health plays a significant role in everyone's life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the introduction and conclusion: you strongly support making smoking illegal. You address health risks and propose action against suppliers, shop inspections, awareness campaigns, and rehabilitation, so the response is relevant to the question. The health paragraph also gives examples such as lung cancer and effects on families. However, some points are less fully developed than others. For example, the claim that smoking should be illegal “for everyone” is not weighed against possible objections or explained in terms of how a ban would work. The discussion also shifts between smoking, tobacco, and other drugs, which makes some supporting ideas unclear. Develop fewer points with specific explanations and examples to make your argument more convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs signposted by “Firstly” and “Secondly,” and a conclusion that restates your view. This gives the reader an overall route through the argument. Some links, however, feel mechanical or do not show the relationship between ideas clearly. For instance, “Moreover” introduces the effect on families, while “therefore smoking kills” makes a broad conclusion without explaining the link. In the second body paragraph, the discussion moves from suppliers to teenagers, inspections, campaigns, and rehabilitation without a clear sequence. Group related ideas and use linking phrases to show cause, contrast, or consequence precisely. Clearer references would also help readers follow who “they” refers to.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “addiction,” “nicotine,” “financial instability,” “smuggle,” and “rehabilitation centre,” and you attempt to express a range of ideas about health and regulation. However, noticeable word-choice and collocation problems sometimes make the meaning unclear or unnatural. “Smoking is injurious to health” and “health is the basic key to survive” are awkward formulations, while “additive cheap” appears to confuse “addictive” with “cheap.” The response also uses “drugs” and “tobacco” interchangeably, although they do not mean the same thing. Aim for accurate, natural combinations and check word forms and spelling. More precise vocabulary would help distinguish smoking-related products from other substances and make your argument clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “despite,” “which,” and “because,” and the overall meaning is usually understandable. Some errors in agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence construction remain. For example, “smoking … cause” should use a singular verb, and “which make them addict” needs a verb agreeing with its subject and a suitable adjective or noun form. In “these centres helps,” the plural subject requires a plural verb; “they can be recover” also needs a passive form. Punctuation and sentence boundaries need attention, particularly around “drugs .The state.” Review agreement and verb patterns, then proofread each sentence for complete, correctly punctuated clauses.

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