Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-24

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)

Nowadays, there is a lot of discussion about the main ecological grievances is the depletion of particular species of flora and fauna while a section of society thinks that there are much bigger and broader problems related to our surroundings. This essay will discuss both the views and provides the general opinion.

It is believed that core area of consequences related to natural well-being of current era is the disappearance of species like plants and animals as people around the world starting focuses on innovation and technology rather than providing attention on nature. people around the globe are tech driven means they are spending their entire time on building tech which often leads to the decomposition of certain species of flora and fauna from the world. for instance: in India during the shift towards 5g networks it was reported that 75% of country birds die due to the large radiation.

On the other hand, some individuals believe that there are more challenging and bigger problems than this. the main reason about these larger problems is pollution and environmental waste as we all know there are large industrial factories around us that carried out activities such as burning of fuels which release harmonious gases in the air which ultimately cause the damage to the lungs. another factor is the waste materials used by the households leads to dirtiness around the surroundings.

In conclusion, environmental problems often have a significant impact on the personal health. in my opinion people should maintain the balance with the facilities and their future impact on the environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views on environmental problems—specifically the loss of biodiversity versus broader issues like pollution—and presents a personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. However, the ideas lack full development and depth. For instance, the example provided about 5G networks causing the death of 75% of country birds is stated as a broad claim without sufficient supporting context or balanced exploration. The position is discernible, but the arguments remain somewhat superficial and rely on generalisations rather than fully extended reasoning. To reach a higher band, the student should expand upon each viewpoint with more nuanced explanations and robust, realistic supporting evidence.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt at paragraphing, separating the introduction, two body paragraphs, and the conclusion. However, cohesion is frequently faulty and mechanical. There are noticeable issues with referencing and sentence boundary punctuation, such as missing capitalisation at the beginning of sentences ("for instance:", "On the other hand,", "the main reason...") and a lack of smooth transitional markers between clauses. Furthermore, the progression of ideas is occasionally hindered by abrupt shifts in topic and repetitive phrasing. To improve, the writer should focus on strengthening sentence-to-sentence links, ensuring correct capitalisation, and employing a wider variety of cohesive devices more naturally.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common expressions such as "depletion of particular species", "flora and fauna", and "environmental waste". However, there are several lexical inaccuracies, awkward collocations, and word-choice errors that impede natural phrasing, such as "ecological grievances", "core area of consequences", and "harmonious gases" (likely intended to mean harmful or toxic gases). Additionally, there are minor issues with word forms and prepositional usage. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the general message, these persistent lexical slips prevent the response from achieving a higher band. Using a dictionary to verify collocations would greatly benefit the writer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The essay shows a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures such as relative clauses and conditional-like constructions. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors in punctuation, capitalization, subject-verb agreement, and tense consistency. Examples include "the main environmental problem of our time is the loss... while a section of society thinks...", "people around the world starting focuses", and "the waste materials used by the households leads to dirtiness". Punctuation is particularly problematic, with many sentences running together or failing to start with capital letters. While these errors rarely completely obscure the meaning, their high frequency across the text places this criterion firmly in the band 5 range.

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