Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-21

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 5.5)

In favour of the main cause mentioned in the task above:

In the past few years or decades there is a drastic change in development of countries, societies and various regions all over the world but this development made people ignorant about the cost that the world or the creatures of the world had to pay for this development. Without any doubt, the industrial sector or the secondary sector has the greatest when it comes to development of a country but when it comes to environment this sector is the one that makes all the destruction to it. With the selfishness of their own development these Industries when setting up their factories or warehouses or any other industrial building neglect the fact that the trees they are cutting is something what the birds call Home, the air that they are polluting with the hazardous gases is ruiniing crops, the water that they are polluting by throwing their industrial waste takes the life of millions of mammals every year. These activities should be stopped or in the next few decades the environment is going to face a backlash which will be hard to recover from.

against the main cause mentioned in the task above:

It is true that industrial sector has the biggest role in development of a society through construction and heavy machineries and sometimes it might harm the environment. Not all the activities but it is true that some activities might harm the environment but with the development in almost all the sectors, the governments have started to take care of this seriously and as of 2026 there are very less industries that build their buildings on agricultural lands or forest because the governments are not giving them right to do that, also the chemical industries or the industries that are responsible for water pollution and air pollution are charged huge taxes so that the damage they are doing could be recovered by the government for further Environmental benefits to the economy. Also Developing or developed economies have made it mendatory for all the registered companies to contribute in Social service schemes. Almost all the Industries have government interference so there is no as such risk of loss of environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses both sides of the argument, but it fails to clearly state an opinion as requested by the prompt. The essay focuses heavily on the industrial sector's impact rather than specifically discussing the 'loss of particular species of plants and animals' versus other environmental problems. By focusing on general pollution, the response misses the core nuance of the prompt regarding biodiversity loss. Furthermore, the opinion is absent, which is a significant requirement for a high band score. The ideas are somewhat repetitive, focusing on industrial damage without exploring the specific debate about species extinction versus other global environmental crises.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is divided into two sections, but the structure is unconventional and lacks a formal introduction and conclusion. The use of headings like 'In favour of...' and 'against...' is not appropriate for an IELTS essay. While there is a logical progression within the paragraphs, the lack of cohesive devices makes the transition between ideas feel mechanical. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the overall paragraphing does not follow the standard academic essay format, which hinders the flow of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'makes all the destruction to it' and 'there is no as such risk'. The student relies on basic terminology like 'development', 'environment', and 'industries'. While the meaning is generally clear, there is a lack of less common lexical items or sophisticated collocations that would demonstrate a higher level of language control. Spelling is generally accurate, but the word choice is often repetitive.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include 'the trees they are cutting is something what the birds call Home' (subject-verb agreement and relative pronoun usage) and 'there are very less industries' (incorrect quantifier). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some run-on sentences that make reading difficult. While the errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to lower the score. A greater variety of error-free complex structures is needed to reach a higher band.

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

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