Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-11-03

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)

In today's world smoking has become an increasingly common habit amongst different individuals.While some of them view smoking to be harmless and an important activity in their day to day life, most of them view smoking to be a dangerous habit which can have lethal effects on one's own health. I personally believe that smoking can have a major impact on a person's health and can reduce their quality of life substantiallly.

One of the main reasons why smoking is hazardous to one's health is that it directly damages the lungs of the person who consumes it on a regular basis.Moreover, this leads to constant deterioation of bronchioli in the lungs in the long run.One of the first symptoms smokers notice is lack of breath or breathlessness . By this time almost 25 percent of their lungs is permanently damaged.This has an immense effect in their quality of life. A recent survey in NHS revealed that 50 percent of lung cancer patients are chain smokers.

Another major contributing factor to why smoking is harmful is that if affects a person's cardiovascular health. Smoking on a routinely basis can lead to lipid build up in arteries and blood vessels which supply blood to the heart.This then leads to lipid deposition in the arteries which can clog the vessels. This in turn leads to stroke or cardiac arrest which can be fatal.But in most cases this is the final stage which can be prevented. A recent american survey showcased that almost 30 percent of cardiac arrest patients have a history of smoking.

In conclusion, although smoking is popular among youth and is very addictive, strict measures must be taken by the goverment to reduce its use. A combination of public awareness and strict rules by the goverment is needed to tackle these issues completely

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you believe smoking seriously harms health and that government action is needed. The two body paragraphs give relevant reasons, covering lung damage and cardiovascular risks, and the examples about lung cancer and cardiac arrest help illustrate these points. However, the response focuses mainly on why smoking is harmful rather than fully addressing the key proposal that it should be made illegal. The conclusion calls for awareness and “strict rules” but does not say clearly whether you support a complete ban or explain why that approach is preferable to regulation. Some claims, such as the figures about lung damage and patient histories, are also presented without explanation. Develop your position on illegality and support the evidence more carefully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two paragraphs presenting separate health effects, and a conclusion. The progression from lung damage to cardiovascular harm is easy to follow, and linking phrases such as “Moreover,” “This in turn,” and “In conclusion” help connect ideas. This organisation is effective, though some connections feel mechanical or repetitive, particularly the repeated use of “This then leads” and “This in turn.” The second body paragraph also repeats the idea of lipid deposition and blocked arteries rather than moving the explanation forward. To make the progression more flexible, use clearer referencing and vary how you show cause and effect, while ensuring each sentence adds a distinct point.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “lethal effects,” “cardiovascular health,” “lipid build up,” and “cardiac arrest.” These choices make the health focus clear, and some less common terms are attempted. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “view smoking to be,” “on a routinely basis,” and “showcased” for reporting survey findings. There are also spelling errors, including “substantiallly,” “deterioation,” and “goverment,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for natural academic collocations and check spelling carefully. For example, use “consider smoking to be,” “on a regular basis,” and “reported” when describing survey results.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses beginning “While,” “although,” and “which,” and the main ideas are generally understandable. However, some sentence structures and grammatical patterns are inaccurate. For example, “if affects a person's cardiovascular health” has an incorrect verb form, while “smoking on a routinely basis can lead” has a faulty adverbial construction. There are also missing spaces after full stops and inconsistent punctuation, as in “basis.Moreover” and “fatal.But.” These errors sometimes interrupt the flow, although the intended meaning is usually recoverable. Improve control by checking sentence boundaries, articles and prepositions, and by proofreading each complex sentence for a complete, correctly formed clause.

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