Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-27

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)

Environmental problems are the biggest issue of our time. Some people says that the loss of particular animals, plants and species are the main cause of it. While others believe that they are more other environmental problems. In my opinion there are several reasons why environmental problems arrive at dangerous level.

First on the one hand carbon emitting vehicles are one of the main reason of this issue. There are different kinds of dangerous chemicals present in the air because of these gasoline vehicles that we inhale. It causes many lung deceases like shortness in breathing. Furthermore cutting trees and the loss of species are also cause of many environmental issues. Plants give us oxygen and absorbs carbon present in the air. We can deal with these issues by simply changes some of our habits like using public transport instead of our own vehicles. This practice also saves our money because of the cost of fuel increase on everyday basis and the environmental problems declines as less carbon emitted by vehicles.

On the other hand factories and different industries producing very harmful gases and then releases into air that causes severe issues for human health. For example factories use tyres to burn instead of natural gas because of the cost saving purpose they did not think about how many dangerous chemicals are emitting in the environment. Loss of animals because they are helpful to clean the environment by acting as natural waste removers, soil aerators and ecosystem regulators.

In conclusion there are many reasons of making the environment hazardous including cutting trees and release of many harmful chemicals in the air by factories and industries that are very important.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both views, but the development is uneven. While you mention the loss of species and other environmental issues like pollution, the discussion lacks depth. The prompt asks for your own opinion, which is stated in the introduction but not consistently supported or integrated into the body paragraphs. The conclusion is somewhat repetitive and does not clearly synthesize the arguments presented. To improve, ensure each body paragraph focuses on one side of the argument with clear, extended examples, and ensure your personal stance is woven throughout the essay rather than just mentioned at the start.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical progression is sometimes hindered by awkward transitions and sentence structure. While you use some cohesive devices like 'First', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion', the flow between ideas is occasionally mechanical. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the link between 'these issues' and the previous sentence is slightly disjointed. Paragraphing is present, but the internal structure of the paragraphs could be improved to ensure that each point follows logically from the previous one, creating a smoother reading experience.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for higher bands. You use basic terms like 'biggest issue', 'dangerous', and 'harmful' repeatedly. There are also some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'lung deceases' (should be 'diseases') and 'cost saving purpose'. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary related to environmental science, such as 'biodiversity loss', 'industrial emissions', or 'ecological degradation', and ensure you are using words in their correct collocations to convey your meaning more precisely.

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 impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('Some people says', 'environmental problems arrive'), article usage, and pluralization ('lung deceases', 'cost of fuel increase'). While the meaning is generally understandable, these errors are persistent. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and verb tense consistency. Incorporating more complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses or conditional sentences, would help demonstrate a wider range, provided they are used accurately.

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

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