Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-09-12

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In some societies, obesity is regarded as a major problem. Some people believe that junk food advertising is largely to blame for this problem and should be banned. However, others feel that junk food advertising does not contribute to the problem of obesity and should not be banned.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience·and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence. Write at least 250 words.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Obesity is a major problem in this time. However, blaming it entirely on fast food advertisement is illogical. It can play a part in increasing the apetite or cravings but largely it is not the only thing to be blamed.

Obesity is a hormonal disorder if explained in a lay man's language. It can be triggered by anything which affects the hormones of a human body. Insulin sensitivity, Polycistic Ovaries Syndrome (PCOs) very common in women, thyroid, etectra. These are some main drivers of obesity, esoecially in women.

The causes mentioned above are the reason why hormones are imbalance and due to which people spend years and years on trying to lose wight but it is extremely difficult fir them to lose weight due to these hormonal disorders.

Yes, I do agree not everyone has the same condition, and not everyone obese has some kind of hormonal disorder. They can be obese due to their eating habits and lack if movement or exercise but in this case also one cannot blame fast food advertisemet solely.

Obesity is a health condition and I know it is really dreadful feel for the people experiencing it. It is very difficult for them to revert from that condition. Endless trials of correcting their routines, working out every single day, calorie deficit increasing protein and what not.

In a nutshell, I don't this fast food advertisement is to be blamed for obesity in society. We should bring awareness in how this should be treated and cared for instead.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the task by discussing whether junk food advertising is to blame for obesity and presenting a personal opinion that it is not the main driver. However, the development of ideas is limited and somewhat repetitive. For instance, the student focuses heavily on hormonal disorders such as 'Polycistic Ovaries Syndrome (PCOs)' and 'thyroid' across multiple paragraphs, while giving less attention to the broader societal arguments surrounding advertising. The position is clear throughout, but the reasoning remains somewhat narrow and lacks the depth of fully extended arguments required for higher bands. Overall, it satisfies the basic requirements of the prompt by exploring both sides and stating a clear stance, corresponding to a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear stance established early on and maintained throughout. Paragraphing is utilised, though paragraphs are generally short and occasionally lack internal cohesion. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes repetitive; for example, transitional phrases are basic, and referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in the phrase 'due to which people spend years'. While the progression of ideas is discernible, the logical links between sentences and paragraphs could be strengthened for smoother transitions. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate main ideas, but the structural flow remains somewhat disjointed, placing this response firmly in the Band 5.5 to 6.0 range, leaning toward a Band 6.0 for overall comprehensibility.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-related terms such as 'obesity', 'hormonal disorder', 'insulin sensitivity', and 'calorie deficit'. However, there are notable spelling and word-choice inaccuracies throughout the text, including 'apetite' instead of appetite, 'lay man's' instead of layman's, 'Polycistic' instead of Polycystic, 'etectra' instead of etcetera, 'esoecially' instead of especially, 'imbalance' instead of imbalanced, and 'wight' instead of weight. Additionally, phrasing such as 'dreadful feel' is unnatural. These errors show an attempt to use less common vocabulary, but they occasionally impede communication and prevent the lexical score from reaching higher bands. This performance aligns with the Band 5.0 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some attempt at varied structures through conditional and subordinate clauses, such as 'It can be triggered by anything which affects the hormones...'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation lapses, including sentence fragments ('Insulin sensitivity, Polycistic Ovaries Syndrome (PCOs) very common in women, thyroid, etectra.') and awkward phrasings like 'I don't this fast food advertisement is to be blamed'. Errors in subject-verb agreement and preposition usage are also noticeable. While these errors do not completely obscure the writer's meaning, they occur frequently enough to distract the reader and limit the control of grammar, fitting comfortably into the Band 5.0 category.

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