Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people say that the main environmental problem of our time is the loss of particular species of plants and animals. Others say that there are more important environmental problems.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 6.5)

People have different views about the most serious environmental issue today. It is widely believed by some individuals that the disappearance of certain plants and animals, while it is opined by others that environmental crisis are salient. In my opinion, losing wildlife is a critical issue, global warming and pollution are a much bigger threat to the planet.

On the one hand, the extinction of plants and animals is a severe problem because ecosystems rely on every single species to maintain balanced. When one species disappears, it can cause a reaction that harms many others. For example, if bees die, many crops and plants will not be pollinated; this would lead to collapse in food supplies for both wild animals and humans. Therefore, protecting biodiversity is essential for protecting life on Earth.

On the other hand, there are several environmental problems that affect everything on a large scale. Climate change, caused by greenhouses gases, extreme weather and severe droughts. This threatens human survival and natural habitats of animals. Additionally, pollution occurs especially when plastic in oceans and dirty air in major cities which can directly harms the health of millions of people every single day.

In conclusion, the loss of specific plants and animals is the major thing that hurts our ecosystems. However, I believe the global issues like climate change and pollution are more important problems. If people focus more on solving these first, than they will naturally protect both human civilization and wildlife habitats at the same time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You address both views and give a clear position: wildlife loss is serious, but climate change and pollution pose broader threats. The two body paragraphs explain the respective arguments, and the bee example usefully shows how species loss can affect food supplies and other life. This fits the task well, with relevant ideas extended and supported. To strengthen the discussion further, develop the comparison between the problems rather than mainly listing the effects of the second view. For instance, explain why climate change and pollution have wider or more immediate consequences than biodiversity loss, and clarify how addressing them would also protect species. The conclusion restates your position, though its final claim could be supported more explicitly by the preceding reasoning.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall progression: an introduction states your position, each body paragraph presents one view, and the conclusion brings the argument together. Paragraphing is appropriate, and signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” make the structure easy to follow. The example about bees is placed logically within the first argument. Cohesion is generally effective, although some links between ideas are abrupt: the climate-change sentence moves directly to its effects, while the pollution point is introduced without a fully formed connecting structure. The final sentence also makes a broad claim about solving global issues protecting wildlife without showing the link in detail. Use more precise referencing and transitions to make these relationships explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “extinction,” “ecosystems,” “biodiversity,” “pollinated,” and “habitats,” and these choices help communicate the main ideas. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “salient” and “essential.” However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, which keeps the vocabulary from showing consistently flexible control. For example, “environmental crisis are salient” does not express the intended contrast naturally, and “greenhouses gases” is an inaccurate form. “The major thing that hurts our ecosystems” is also vague and informal for this argument. Aim for precise environmental terminology and natural collocations, and check word forms when using less familiar vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex structures, including a conditional example (“if bees die…”) and a subordinate clause beginning “because ecosystems rely…”. Meaning is generally clear, and the response includes some well-controlled sentences. However, some grammatical errors remain. The opening contrast is not constructed as a complete parallel sentence: “It is widely believed by some individuals that…, while it is opined by others that…” is difficult to follow. “Climate change, caused by greenhouses gases, extreme weather and severe droughts” is a sentence fragment, and “pollution occurs especially when… which can directly harms” has faulty clause structure and subject–verb agreement. The final “If people… than” construction also needs correction. Practise complete clause structures and check agreement and conditional linking.

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