Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-11-01
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)
Smoking has a detremental effect on health. There has been many steps taken by governments such as including warning in the packaging itself and restricting smoking in public places. In my opinion, although making it illegal could be a useful preventive measure, educating people and detailed campaign should be prioritize.
Making smoking completely illegal could convey the seriousness of the issue. There are already restriction on smoking in public places, and a person could face financial penalty. Yet, people smoke as the laws are not properly impemented. Moreover, as smoking is allowed in some places, these vague criterias help people get away with smoking. Because of this reasons smoking is quite normalized. If smoking is banned altogether the result would be more widespread. However, in countries where there is corruption, this could become a problem for the citizens.
On the other hand, often people who smoke has an underlying cause such as frustration, addiction or little knowledge about the harm of smoking. Detailed campaigns where visuals are used, makes them more awae of the result of their actions. Educating them or by providing them alternative options give them the choice to choose better for themselves. It protects their autonomy and prevents smoking. For example, a rickshawpuller can have resentment about not earning enough, and this could lead him to smoking. He could be given an idea about how to save money instead of buying cigarettes and how to use it to improve his life. This would inspire him to quit smoking.
In conclusion, while laws are a great a way to prevent smoking, there could be implementation problem and lesser freedom of citizens. Social awareness could be a better approach to solve this problem.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5
Your position is clear: you recognise that prohibition could help, but argue that education and awareness campaigns are preferable. You address both the case for making smoking illegal and an alternative approach, and the example of a rickshaw puller gives your argument a concrete illustration. This meets the task well overall. However, some ideas are less fully developed than others: the claim that a ban would have a “more widespread” result is unclear, and the concern about corruption is introduced without explaining how it would affect enforcement or citizens. The example about saving money also focuses on one individual rather than showing how campaigns could work more broadly. Clarifying these links and developing the comparison between prohibition and education would make the response more complete.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The response has a coherent overall structure: the introduction states your view, the two body paragraphs consider different approaches, and the conclusion restates your preference. Transitions such as “On the other hand” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the main direction. Some connections between ideas, however, are not fully clear. For example, “If smoking is banned altogether the result would be more widespread” does not specify what result you mean, and “Because of this reasons” does not clearly link the preceding points. The conclusion also introduces “lesser freedom” without developing that concern in the body. Make each paragraph’s central point explicit and use pronouns and linking phrases only when their references are clear; this would make the progression more consistently smooth.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “preventive measure,” “financial penalty,” “underlying cause,” “autonomy,” and “social awareness.” These choices help express relevant ideas, and the meaning is generally understandable. There are, however, some inaccurate word forms, collocations, and spelling slips that limit precision: “detrimental effect” is misspelled as “detremental,” “vague criterias” uses an incorrect plural form, and “more widespread” does not clearly describe the intended consequence. “Detailed campaigns” is also less natural than a phrase such as “targeted public-awareness campaigns.” Aim for precise collocations and check spelling and word forms carefully, especially when using less familiar vocabulary. This will help your ideas sound more natural and exact.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You attempt a mix of simple and complex structures, including conditional sentences (“If smoking is banned altogether…”) and clauses explaining causes and examples. Most sentences remain understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For instance, “There has been many steps” has subject–verb disagreement, while “people who smoke has” should use a plural verb. In “Educating them or by providing them alternative options give them the choice,” the parallel structure and subject–verb agreement are faulty. Articles and plurals also need attention in “There are already restriction” and “a great a way.” These errors do not usually prevent understanding, but they reduce accuracy. Review agreement, articles, and parallel constructions, then proofread each sentence to ensure its subject and verb match.
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