Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-16

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)

There are certain individuals who believe that the major environmental issue of today is the extinction of various species of plants and animals. However others have the opinion that there are some other concerns to be investigated. Clean environment is the basic necessity of all organisms in the world.

There are a lot of factors today which badly affect our environment and almost all the problems we are facing are created by us. It is because in order to ease ourselves we actually do a lot bad to our environment and other living creatures. Like, in hot regions of the world there are a lot of air conditioners and refrigerators in order to provide comfort in those regions. But we are unaware that how much these appliances are doing bad to our surroundings. These machines release chloroflorocarbons which are badly affecting the ozone layer of the Earth and as a result of it a lot of harmful radiation of sun enter ous environment and pollute it. This is the main cause of a lot of skin deseases and cancers all around the world. And it is also the main cause of extinction of various organisms of the planet Earth because as the Ultravoilent radiations of the Sun enters the environment it increases the temperature intensively and as a result of it a lot of organisms die because the normal temperature of their habitats fluctuates. And as the plants and other animals start extincting it causes a lot of problems to our environment because they are the major entity of the society in which we are living and with the extinction of it a lot of problems may occur likethose certain animals which became extinct eat other small species which are dangerous to our environmet and as a result of their extinction the dangerous species began to grow rapidly and hence cause problems to the environment. And hence the ecosystem became unstable.

But there are some individuals who believe that extinction the certain species is not the major environmental problem today. It is because they have other opinion in this regard, like according to them the factors which are badly affecting our environment are factories, motor mobiles, industries, exposing dangerous chemicals and various unhygenic measures. They are also right in their opinion as these are also such factors which cannot be dismissed. Nowadays, there are a lot of factories and industries almost at every nook in the world and they are releasing harmful products in the environment in the form of smoke which is mixed in air, chemical compounds released in water affecting marine life and also the people who are drinking water from that particular stream. Motor vehicles are also polluting the environment because most of them are generated with petroleum releasing carbon and nitrogen waste in the environment. These problems can be reduced if factories install distillation plants and clean the water and smoke before exposing in the environment. And if motor vehicles are replaced by electromotives this problem can also be reduced.

I would agree with both the opinions and I would say that they both are linked with each other. So if we want do do good to our environment we must have to consider both factors.

In conclusion I will that organisms extinction and other environmental problems are minimised if we take considerable steps. Like minimising our comfort and installing cleaning plants at different stations to reduce environmental problems.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on whether species extinction is the primary environmental problem and providing a personal opinion. The writer presents a clear position that both issues are interconnected. However, some ideas are repetitive and overly generalized, particularly in the lengthy second paragraph where the argument loops back and forth between climate factors and species loss. While the ideas are relevant, they lack the full structural extension and precise focus expected at higher bands. Therefore, the task achievement aligns well with a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is generally coherent with a clear overall arrangement and identifiable paragraphs. However, cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of "And hence" and "as a result of it." Paragraphing is attempted, but the second body paragraph is extremely long and dense, combining multiple distinct points without adequate breathing room or varied transitional phrasing. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and logical progression suffers slightly from run-on sentences. This fits the profile of Band 5.5 to 6.0, settling securely at Band 6.0 due to the clear macro-structure.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, but contains several noticeable inaccuracies and non-standard collocations, such as "motor mobiles," "electromotives," "deseases," and "extincting" (instead of becoming extinct). While the student attempts less common vocabulary like "chlorofluorocarbons" and "ecosystem," word choice errors occasionally appear (e.g., "doing bad to our environment" instead of "harming"). Spelling errors like "hygenic" and "chloroflorocarbons" also occur. These limitations place the lexical resource squarely at a Band 5.5 to 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over multi-clause sentences. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as "we must have to consider," "exposing dangerous chemicals," and run-on sentences with excessive conjunctions. Punctuation is also weak in places, missing commas after introductory clauses. While communication is not severely impeded and the meaning generally gets across, the frequency of grammatical slips prevents the score from reaching Band 6.5. A score of 6.0 is appropriate.

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