Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-09-13

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)

Society's point of view regarding the relation of obesity and junk food advertisements differs from one country to the other based on different factors.

Firstly, In nations where the obesity problem is considered very seriously, most people unify together in big campaigns to call for the government to take action and impose strict laws on limiting and banning the junk food industry and its seductive and widespread advertisements. This aims to reduce the amount of exposure to marketing techniques that brainwash people into consuming more and more of junk food, contributing to obesity, especially for certain people where sports and leisure activities isn't their priority, or where they simply cannot practice sports due to underlying health conditions.

Moreover, banning these kinds of advertisements helps people in exploring other healthy living means related to diet, contributing and positively impacting their mental and physical wellbeing.

In contrast, societies where obesity isn't given much attention leads to people thinking that this issue is affecting very specific groups of people and therefore they seem to be fine with advertisements of junk food. This mindset can be a result of people's own lifestyle, where physical and mental wellbeing are always a top priority regardless of any external influences, or to some social norms that ever individual adheres to. The combination of these factors lead to people getting less attracted to any kind of junk food and its related advertisements.

Overall, Whether junk food advertisements shall be banned or not depends on each society's willingness to accept these kinds of practices and live with them on a daily basis or not.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views—that junk food advertising is to blame and should be banned, and that it does not contribute to obesity—while also weaving in the writer's perspective regarding societal attitudes. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and lacks specific real-world examples or evidence, which pulls the score down into the lower bands. The position is stated at the beginning and end, but the arguments regarding why certain societies differ in their views are slightly abstract and under-developed. For instance, the claim that some societies are fine with advertisements because wellbeing is a top priority is not fully explained. Overall, the task is addressed, but more specific elaboration and concrete examples are needed to reach a higher band level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the response into introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is generally used to separate distinct ideas, such as the view supporting the ban versus the opposing view. However, cohesion at the sentence level is occasionally faulty or mechanical. For example, 'In contrast, societies where obesity isn't given much attention leads to people thinking...' contains a subject-verb agreement error with the gerund phrase, and the logical progression between some sentences feels slightly disjointed. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Moreover', and 'In contrast' are employed, but referencing and transitions could be smoother to achieve a more seamless flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'seductive and widespread advertisements', 'underlying health conditions', and 'social norms'. There are some attempts to use less common lexical items, though occasional inaccuracies in word choice and collocation occur, such as 'where sports and leisure activities isn't their priority' or 'exploration of other healthy living means'. Spelling is generally accurate, and vocabulary errors do not impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the arguments easily. To reach a higher band, the student should aim for more precision and flexibility in phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, attempting relative clauses and participial phrases, such as 'campaigns to call for the government to take action and impose strict laws'. However, grammatical errors are frequent enough to affect the overall accuracy. There are noticeable agreement issues, such as 'where sports and leisure activities isn't their priority' (plural subject with singular verb) and 'societies... leads to people thinking' (plural subject with singular verb). Punctuation and sentence boundaries occasionally need attention, but despite these errors, the meaning remains clear and communication is rarely impeded. The control over complex structures needs to be more consistent.

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

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