Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-03

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)

The topic of "the main driving factors of the environmental problems" is among the major debateable issues. Some people believe that the main environmental problem of our time is the extinction of particular species of plants and animals. However, others argue that there are more important environmental issues than only extinction of organisms. From my perspective, there are many other environmental concerns in addition to the loss of particular species of plants and animals.

On one hand, loss of particular species of plants and animals can create a gap in the food chain which can eventually breaks the food web. Organisms serve as a bridge to connect consumers with producers and perform an essential function of nutrient breakdown in food web cycle, which is specie specific. Meanwhile, extinction of any specie of plants or animals can cause lackness in an ability of decomposing complex food into simpler compunds and its release back to the environment. For instance, research on the side effects of the loss of particular species of organisms have shown that the percentage of the simple atomspheric nutrients have been decreased significantly due to an extinction of specific species.

On another hand, there are many other issues such as pollution and global warming that impact the environment far more significantly. Pollution can be a source of various envionmental as well as health concerns, whoose consequences can place an additional pressure on the socio-economic growth and financial resources of the country. Whereas global warming can be considered an ultimate source of increasing temperature, whihc leads to the melting of glaciers and unusual flooding of rivers. A clear illusrtation of this is provided by several developing countries who have experienced more frequent floods due to the rapid rise in the level of global warming. Therefore, the majority of the environmentalist consider these environmental problems far greater than extinction.

Although extinction of a particular specie of plants and animals can break the vital food cycle process, from my point of view, consequences including health and financial hazards associated with pollution and global warming are far greater than the loss of a particular specie.

To conclude, extinction of a specific specie can make it diffcult to release pivotal nutrients back to the environment. However, I strongly believe, increasing temperature due to global warming and poluution can adversely affect various aspects of life inclduing socio-economic growth and healthcare.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task, discussing both the view that species loss is the primary environmental threat and the view that other issues are more significant, while also presenting a clear overall opinion. The ideas are generally relevant, but they reflect a mid-level balance where some aspects are more fully developed than others. For instance, the discussion on food webs and decomposition in the second paragraph is somewhat repetitive and lacks precise biological elaboration, whereas the counterarguments regarding pollution and global warming are articulated more clearly. The position is maintained throughout, fulfilling the core requirements of addressing both views and taking a stance, though extending the supporting arguments with more specific real-world examples would elevate the content further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from introduction to body paragraphs and conclusion. Each paragraph has a discernible focus, moving from species loss to broader issues like pollution and global warming. However, cohesion sometimes feels mechanical or formulaic, relying on standard transitional phrases like 'On one hand' and 'On another hand' rather than subtler cohesive links. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, but referencing within sentences occasionally lacks precision, such as pronoun use and connective ties, which prevents the logical flow from appearing entirely seamless. To reach a higher band, the transitions between ideas within and across paragraphs need to become more natural and sophisticated.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'socio-economic growth,' 'decomposition,' and 'pivotal nutrients.' However, there are noticeable lexical errors in word choice, spelling, and word forms throughout the essay, including 'debateable' instead of 'debatable,' 'specie' instead of 'species,' 'lackness' instead of 'lack,' 'compunds' instead of 'compounds,' 'atomspheric' instead of 'atmospheric,' 'envionmental' instead of 'environmental,' 'whoose' instead of 'whose,' 'whihc' instead of 'which,' and 'poluution' instead of 'pollution.' While these errors do not seriously impede communication, their frequency prevents the vocabulary from reaching a higher level of precision and control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures like conditional clauses and relative clauses. There are several grammatical errors and punctuation slips present throughout the text, such as missing articles ('an extinction of specific species'), subject-verb agreement issues ('research on the side effects... have shown'), and awkward prepositional usage. Punctuation errors are also evident, particularly with unnecessary commas breaking natural clause boundaries. These errors rarely impede communication and the meaning remains clear, but they occur with enough frequency to show that grammatical control is limited to a mixed level of simple and somewhat faulty complex structures.

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.