Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-11-02

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 6.5)

In some parts of the world, it is often argued that advertisements related to promoting junk food are the major contributor to obesity which is considered a serious health issue. Other believe that such advertisements should not be banned due to their limited contribution to the problem. Although promoting junk food through advertising campaigns contribute to obesity to a limited extent, I believe other factors are responsible to gain weight and banning such ads would not solve the problem.

On the one hand, those who argue that the ads promoting unhealthy food are largely to be blamed for the weight gain due to their ability to appeal and persuade people to eat them. In other words, processed food ads are showed in a way which make the population tempted towards the fast food. In this way, people prefer to eat more junk food due to its convenience, and will overlook to their calories, resulting in gaining weight. For example, advertisements promote the benefits of eating fast food including lower costs, ready-to-eat food, and flavour etc, which are targeted to mostly youth and children. As a result, they end up loosing their control and start to eat junk food, resulting in obesity and other linked health problems. However, I do not think banning ads will reduce the issue because these are not the only reason of obesity. There are other factors involved, which contributes to gain weight and I think, controlling those factors will alleviate the problem.

On the other hand, those who believe that banning ads will not resolve the issue because there are other factors such as genetics, physical inactivity, and lack of balanced diet which play a major role in this problem. For instance, people with sedentary jobs without any physical activity and lack of balanced diet end up gaining weight. Likewise, genetics play a very big role in transferring obesity from one generation to another. There are many cases in the world where obesity is very common among families due to the genetic factors. I totally agree with this argument because, as discussed above, other factors contribute a major portion to the problem. Therefore, banning ads will not provide a solution to the given problem.

In conclusion, while advertisements promote the bad habit of eating junk food, I believe putting a ban of them will not totally remove the issue. Instead, it is better to reduce other factors by taking a healthy and balanced diet, and through regular check-ups as well as workout.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion7.0
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both views and state a consistent position: advertising may contribute to unhealthy eating, but banning it would not solve obesity because other causes matter more. The discussion of advertising’s appeal and the examples of inactivity, diet and genetics are relevant, and the conclusion follows your argument. This meets the task well, with some elements developed more fully than others. In particular, the first view is explained through persuasion and convenience, while the claim that advertising has only a limited effect is asserted rather than supported with evidence or a clear comparison of its influence against other causes. The genetics example is also broad. To strengthen the response further, explain how these factors interact and support key claims with more specific examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. The progression is easy to follow, and signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers identify each stage of the argument. You also connect examples to their consequences, as in the explanation that persuasive advertising can encourage people to eat more fast food. Some linking is repetitive or slightly mechanical, however: “resulting in” appears more than once, and the second body paragraph repeats the claim that other factors play a major role without adding much development. The reference in “these are not the only reason” is also not fully clear. Vary transitions and use more precise referencing to make the flow more natural.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “processed food,” “physical inactivity,” “sedentary jobs,” “balanced diet,” and “genetic factors.” These choices make the subject clear, and some phrases, such as “targeted to mostly youth and children,” show an attempt to use more specific language. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “ads promoting unhealthy food are largely to be blamed,” “overlook to their calories,” and “putting a ban of them.” There are also spelling errors such as “loosing” for “losing.” These do not prevent understanding, but they limit precision and naturalness. Work on common collocations and check spelling; more accurate phrasing would help you express your ideas with greater flexibility.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex structures, including subordinate clauses and cause-and-effect sentences, for example, “Although promoting junk food through advertising campaigns contribute to obesity to a limited extent…” and “people with sedentary jobs… end up gaining weight.” The overall meaning remains clear, but some grammatical errors recur. Subject–verb agreement is inconsistent in “Other believe,” “campaigns contribute,” and “factors… contributes.” There are also problems with sentence construction and punctuation, such as “those who argue that the ads… are largely to be blamed” being left as a dependent clause, and the comma in “I totally agree with this argument because, as discussed above…” interrupting the sentence unnecessarily. Review agreement and clause completeness, while continuing to practise varied complex sentences.

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