Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-22

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)

From my point of view both the arguments are absolutely correct because of certain reasons discussed below.The growing population has resulted in deforestation for building their accomodation.Deforestation had lead the loss of various important and useful tress and plants.Some of them were used by many animals as their main source of food for their survival and some were used to make medicines for various dangerous health diseases.The other main factors which effect the environment are air pollution,noice pollution,hunting and poaching of animals etc.First let’s come to air pollution which is mainly caused by vehicles such as trucks and cars.There are solutions available for it also like electric cars and trucks but the charging systems are not yet much developed.Main problems caused by air pollution is breathing problem caused to humans resulting in many health complications such as asthama etc.It also damages the ozone layer which protects us from the harmful sun rays.Now if we talk about the hunting and poaching of animals,It is also a very serious topic which harms our environment as it is decreasing the species of animals and it is leading to the break of the food chain.The another most harmful topic is the noice pollution also caused by the cars and trucks which results in hearing loss of many people and animals.These are some main problems which are effecting the environment and should be taken care of to maintain the well being of the environment.The future generations have to find some alternatives which could fix these issues.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument but fails to provide a clear, consistent personal opinion as required by the prompt. While you mention that both arguments are 'absolutely correct,' this is a superficial stance that lacks depth. The ideas are relevant, but the development is somewhat limited. For instance, the discussion on air pollution and noise pollution is somewhat tangential to the core debate about biodiversity loss versus other environmental issues. To improve, ensure you explicitly state your position in the introduction and maintain that focus throughout, providing more nuanced support for why one view might be more pressing than the other.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay lacks clear paragraphing, which makes it difficult to follow the progression of ideas. It is presented as a single block of text, which is a significant weakness in terms of structure. While there are some cohesive devices used, such as 'First let’s come to' and 'Now if we talk about,' they are somewhat informal and mechanical. The logical flow is interrupted by the sudden transition between topics. To reach a higher band, you must organise your response into distinct paragraphs—one for each viewpoint and one for your own opinion—and use a wider variety of linking words to connect your ideas more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'main problems' and 'harmful topic' repeatedly. There are also some spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'accomodation' (accommodation), 'tress' (trees), 'noice' (noise), and 'asthama' (asthma). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they demonstrate a limited control over spelling and collocation. To improve, try to incorporate more academic vocabulary related to environmental science and ensure you proofread carefully for common spelling mistakes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include 'Deforestation had lead the loss' (should be 'has led to the loss') and 'The another most harmful topic' (should be 'Another harmful issue'). There are also issues with punctuation, such as missing spaces after periods and incorrect comma usage. While you attempt complex structures, they are often faulty. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and consistent verb tense usage would significantly improve the clarity and accuracy of your writing.

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

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