Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-29

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 6.0)

Whether other people say that the main environmental problem of our time is the loss of particular species of plants and animals or there are more important environmental problems has been a debate among people. This essay will discuss both opinions before giving my own point of view.

On the one hand, most numbers of animals are being endangered, whereas plants are also dying due to climate change. These lead to loss of particular species of plants and animals wherein it has a substantial effect in our environment both in the present and future years. For instance, the shortage of species of animals will destroy the food chain. For example, there will be no shelter for birds, and the oxygen will be limited to trillions people on earth. Plants also give food and other needs of individuals. This shows that plants have big impacts in people's lives.

On the other hand, there are more important environmental problems that we face. Pollution has been an endless problem. Different kinds of pollution such as air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution are the problematic issues in every country. For instance, air pollution that come from factories, smoking belching and cigarettes have bad effects to one's health. These ruin the atmosphere. Furthermore, improper waste disposal, illegal logging and mining, deforestation will result to water pollution and land pollution.

In conclusion, I strongly believe that the main environmental problem rises from the loss of species of plants and animals as these are the most important parts of people's daily lives.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The essay addresses both sides of the argument and presents a clear personal opinion in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the argument regarding the food chain and oxygen is stated but not fully explored or supported with specific, nuanced evidence. While the prompt is addressed, the discussion of 'more important' environmental problems is limited primarily to a list of pollution types without explaining why these might be considered more urgent than biodiversity loss. To reach a higher band, you should provide more depth in your reasoning and ensure that your position is clearly established in the introduction rather than just the conclusion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand,' 'On the other hand,' and 'For instance' are used to guide the reader through the argument. However, the flow within paragraphs is occasionally mechanical, and some transitions feel repetitive. The referencing is generally clear, but the connection between the ideas in the second paragraph could be smoother. The overall progression of the argument is coherent, but the essay would benefit from a wider variety of cohesive devices to link sentences more naturally and improve the overall flow of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to express your ideas clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'endangered,' 'food chain,' and 'deforestation.' However, there is a reliance on simpler vocabulary, such as 'big impacts' and 'bad effects,' which limits the precision of your writing. Some collocations are slightly unnatural, such as 'smoking belching' and 'shortage of species.' To improve, focus on using more sophisticated synonyms and precise academic collocations to convey your points with greater nuance and impact.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'most numbers of animals are being endangered' (incorrect phrasing) and 'result to water pollution' (should be 'result in'). Additionally, there are issues with subject-verb agreement and article usage, such as 'trillions people' instead of 'trillions of people.' While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Increasing your control over complex sentence structures and proofreading for minor grammatical slips will help improve your score.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.