Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-22

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 6.5)

In today's world many people smoke for numerous reasons. However, It is argued that smoking should be made illegal because there are many diseases caused due to smoking tobacco. I partly agree with this statement because banning a substance is not a proper solution to the problem. In the following paragraphs, I intend to put forth my arguments to support my view.

To begin with, there are serious diseases involved with smoking, including cardiac arrest, lungs cancer and respiratory problem. The treatment of these disease is expensive as well as painful. Individuals suffering from such illness have very little chance of survival. Tobacco also contain nicotine, making it difficult for people to quit this bad habit. In addition, passive smoking is another big problem. Non smokers also face health issues due to fumes of burning tobacco. Thus, smoking should be banned from public places.

However, banning smoking is not an effective solution, as it would make it difficult for the government to have a control over quality and distribution of tobacco. It would encourage people to sell tobacco illegally. Moreover, selling of tobacco generates a lot revenue for the government. There are number of taxes and excise duty imposed on the production and selling of tobacco. Banning it would result in loss of revenue. Instead of making smoking illegal, the government should introduce strict regulations on smoking. Restricting minors for smoking, ban on promoting smoking and prohibit smoking in public place would help to reduce smoking rates.

To sum up, smoking is bad for health and is associated with fatal diseases. Imposing ban on smoking and tobacco is not an effective solution as it would make difficult for government to have control over its quality and distribution. In my opinion, strict regulations and awareness campaign can help to reduce smoking rates.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear from the introduction: you partly agree, recognising the health risks while arguing that prohibition is not the best response. You address both sides and support your view with relevant points, including passive smoking, illegal sales, tax revenue and possible regulations. This gives the response a clear, relevant argument. To strengthen it further, develop some claims with more explanation or a specific example. For instance, the point that banning tobacco would make quality control difficult is asserted but not explained, and the revenue argument could be linked more clearly to public health spending. The proposed measures are relevant, though their likely effectiveness could also be illustrated. Overall, the task is addressed and the ideas are extended, with some scope for more precise support rather than broad claims.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction states your position, the body paragraphs present health concerns and objections to prohibition, and the conclusion restates your view. The progression is easy to follow, and signposts such as “To begin with,” “However,” and “To sum up” help readers understand the argument’s direction. You also use contrast effectively to distinguish the case for restrictions from the case against a total ban. At times, however, the linking is somewhat formulaic, and several points in the second body paragraph are listed rather than connected through explanation. For example, illegal sales and government revenue could be tied more explicitly to your central argument. Use referencing and transitions more flexibly, and build clearer links between each claim and its consequence.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “passive smoking,” “nicotine,” “distribution,” “excise duty,” and “regulations.” These terms help you discuss health effects and government policy, and the meaning remains clear throughout. There are also some imprecise or unnatural choices, such as “cardiac arrest” as a general smoking-related disease, “lungs cancer,” and “a lot revenue.” Phrases such as “bad habit” and “big problem” are understandable but less precise for an academic argument. Aim to use more accurate collocations and vary general wording with specific terms. For example, distinguish between a disease and an acute event, and describe the health consequences as risks or conditions rather than making broad claims about survival.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a clear concessive structure in “Although” is not used, but “However, banning smoking is not an effective solution, as…” effectively links a claim and its reason. Most sentences communicate their meaning, and the paragraphing supports readability. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly with articles, agreement, plurals and sentence-level punctuation. Examples include “The treatment of these disease,” “Tobacco also contain nicotine,” and “There are number of taxes.” The opening also capitalises “It” after a comma, and the final sentence would be clearer with an article before “awareness campaign.” Review subject–verb agreement and noun forms, and proofread articles and punctuation. More consistently accurate complex sentences would strengthen the control already shown.

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