Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-30

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 has been observed that, smoking cause harmful effects in our overall respiratory system. Although some people believe that smoking habit cause life threatening illness. I agreed the given statement to a large extent. My inclination is elaboprated in ensuring paragraph and relavent examples.

The foremost argument to justify my stand is that, smoking is serious hazard to our lungs.The nicotene and caffein present in the cigretts directly affect our lungs and alveoli.This will lead to several health problems such as constant coughing and diffuiculty in breathing which is directly proportional to weaken breathing system in our body. For instance, it is more likely for a person to suffer from asthama or tuberculosis who smoke on daily basis. This will affect a person's overall health, livehood and career.

Furthermore, the other reason to prove my point is smoking affect the overall environment where the person lives. The passive smokers are also equally harmed like the acrtive one. Additionally, the newborn child health is indirectly affected if the parents smoke. for example, a child can be born with autism if the mother smokes actively. There are several health related circumstances a person have to face if he smokes on daily basis.

On the contrary, some people counter claim that smoking is good because it relives stress. They think it benefits them to overcome overthinking and depression but the disadvantages overlook the situation.

To conclude the discussion, it can be said that despite the fact of stress reliver, my reasons that it seriously causes us health concerns and respiratory problems are logically acceptable. Thus, to solve the problem of smoking it should be banned and made illegal.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you agree to a large extent and conclude that smoking should be banned. You address health effects on smokers and others, and briefly acknowledge the opposing view that smoking relieves stress. These points are relevant, but some are less fully developed than others. The discussion of lung damage includes symptoms and examples, while the claim that smoking harms the environment is not explained in detail, and the autism example is asserted without support. The response would be stronger if it explained why making smoking illegal is justified, rather than focusing mainly on its health risks, and developed the counterargument before explaining why it is outweighed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two supporting paragraphs, a counterargument and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “Furthermore,” “On the contrary,” and “To conclude” help readers follow the main stages. However, some linking is mechanical, and connections between claims are not always clear. For example, the paragraph moves from passive smoking to newborn health without explaining the relationship, while “the disadvantages overlook the situation” does not clearly show how the counterargument is answered. Improve progression by grouping related effects, using clearer references, and explaining how each example supports the paragraph’s main point. This would make the overall organisation more consistently logical.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “respiratory system,” “life threatening illness,” “passive smokers,” and “counter claim.” This gives you enough language to communicate the main ideas, but inaccurate spelling, word forms and collocations are noticeable and sometimes make the meaning less precise. Examples include “nicotene,” “cigretts,” “diffuiculty,” and “stress reliver”; “caffeine” is also not an appropriate description of a typical cigarette ingredient. Phrases such as “serious hazard to our lungs” and “overcome overthinking” sound unnatural. Check spelling carefully and learn common word partnerships for health and policy topics. More precise vocabulary would make your arguments clearer and more convincing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use both simple sentences and some attempts at complex structures, such as “Although some people believe…” and “if the parents smoke.” However, control is uneven, and errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles and punctuation recur. For example, “smoking cause harmful effects” needs subject–verb agreement, while “I agreed the given statement” has an incorrect verb pattern. The opening “Although…” clause is left as a fragment, and “a person have to face” also has an agreement error. Commas and spacing around full stops are inconsistent. Practise building complete sentences with subordinate clauses, checking each subject against its verb, and proofreading punctuation. This will help you express complex ideas more accurately.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.