Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-18

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 5.0)

Most people argue that the greatest environmental problems are species loss. others say , a number of other environmental problems are of more concern. in my perspective, a lot of other environmental pronlems are of more importance.

First of all, climate change is causing a lot of problems all over the world. Especially, issues related to floods which are destroying agriculture,food and endangered species being destroyed by these floods. For example, floods are caused global warming which happens when a lot of gases are trapped in the earths atmosphere like co2, co , so4 etc. which can causes the air to heat up and cause global warming. As a result, glaciers melt and cause the destruction of habitats.

Secondly, another problem associated with environment is ter pollution . this is mainly caused by a large number of populations by relasing detergents and factory waste into water bodies and causing damage to fish and plant species. For example, microplastics ,radioactive chemicals from industries and microorganisms are making it difficul for aquatic life . As a result, availability of clean water becomes difficult to find for humans, plants and animals.

Overall, if the environment is concerned a lot of problrms can be seen in todays world. Especially, problems associated with global warming, pollution and water contamination.

In conclusion, the environmental problems of our current time that are most concerning are related to climate and pollution . Both of these caused a lot of damage to a lot of different forms of life forms.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both views on environmental problems and stating a clear personal opinion in the introduction. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. While the writer mentions species loss briefly, the main focus shifts directly to climate change and water pollution to support the perspective that other problems are more important. The ideas are relevant, but the arguments lack depth and tend to generalise without providing fully elaborated support. Specifically, the discussion on climate change in the second paragraph jumps between different concepts like floods and greenhouse gases rather than building a cohesive argument about relative importance. Consequently, this performance aligns closely with Band 5.5 descriptors, where the task is addressed, but the depth and extension of ideas remain restricted.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, featuring standard introductory and concluding remarks, as well as distinct body paragraphs marked by transitional words like 'First of all' and 'Secondly'. However, overall coherence suffers from mechanical and sometimes faulty cohesive devices, along with frequent referencing issues. For instance, the conclusion mentions that 'Both of these caused a lot of damage', but it is unclear whether this refers to climate and pollution or the previous points. Furthermore, paragraphing is problematic; there is an unnecessary standalone single-sentence paragraph ('Overall, if the environment is concerned...') that disrupts the flow of the text. Progression is occasionally hindered by repetitive phrasing and abrupt shifts between ideas, placing the response firmly at Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is relatively limited and repetitive, with several spelling and word-choice errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples of noticeable errors include 'pronlems' instead of problems, 'ter pollution' instead of water pollution, and 'relasing' instead of releasing. The student attempts to use some less common environmental vocabulary, such as 'greenhouse gases', 'microplastics', and 'aquatic life', but overall lexical control is weak. Words are sometimes misused in context, such as stating that 'floods are caused global warming' or that clean water 'becomes difficult to find for humans'. Despite these inaccuracies, the vocabulary is adequate to convey the basic message, corresponding to a Band 5.0 level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The text displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and basic complex forms that frequently contain errors. There are numerous punctuation and capitalization mistakes throughout the text, such as starting sentences and proper names with lowercase letters ('others say', 'earth s atmosphere'). Grammatical errors include fragment sentences, incorrect verb forms like 'which can causes', and missing articles ('availability of clean water becomes difficult to find'). While some simpler structures are accurate, frequent errors in complex formations cause noticeable difficulty for the reader. Therefore, this performance fits the Band 5.0 descriptors, reflecting a limited range of structures and frequent grammatical errors.

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.