Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-09

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 6.5)

It is argued which environmental problem should be our primary concern, while some believe extinction of particular flora and fauna is the main environmental issue. I will give reasonings behind each cause below.

Firstly, some plants and animals are significantly vital for environment and their extinction will cause a detrimental harm to the environment. Each life in nature is dependent upon one another. Symbotic relationship between different plants and animals preserve biodiversity. Extinction of a part of this system will imbalance the equilibrium in the nature and begin a chain of destruction. For instance, heavy use of pesticides is killing particular beneficial insects As a result, the number of birds whose main prey were these insects are dwindling to decline day by day. Therefore, loss of targeted wildlife and plants can be regarded as a major environmental problem.

Secondly, pollution and deforestation are harming the environment in a massive scale. Currently, air, water and earth are polluted at large by heavy industries. As a result, pollutants are poisoning the food chain and affecting the lifespan of plants and animals. Deforestation is destroying the natural habitats of animals by cutting down trees and clearing forests after forests for agriculture, timber and housing. For instance, deforestation is contributing to global warming and climate change which are more pressing ecological issues impacting human life. Addionally, polluted sea water can not work properly as the lungs of the earth raising green house impact. As a result, earth's tempature and sea level is rising triggering a global extinction risk for humans. For these reasons, we can say pollution and deforestation are more harmful to environment than any other cause.

To summarize, pollution and deforestation pose significantly higher risk of global extinction event with respect to the loss of certain plants and animals. Therefore, they can be regarded as more important environmental problems.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You address both views and make your own position clear: the first body paragraph explains why species loss matters, while the second argues that pollution and deforestation are more pressing. The pesticide example and the discussion of habitat destruction give relevant support, and the conclusion restates your judgement. This meets the task well, although some claims are asserted more broadly than they are explained. For example, the link between polluted seawater, the “lungs of the earth,” and rising temperatures is difficult to follow, and the human “global extinction risk” is not developed. To strengthen the response, explain these causal links more precisely and give the opposing view similarly specific support.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two paragraphs presenting the contrasting views, and a conclusion that confirms your opinion. Sequencing phrases such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “To summarize” make the progression easy to follow, and cause-and-effect links help connect examples to claims. Some cohesion is less controlled, however. “As a result” is repeated several times, and the sentence beginning “Additionally” moves quickly from sea pollution to the planet’s temperature and sea level without clearly showing each link. The opening also promises “reasonings” but does not preview the two arguments. Use a wider range of linking methods and make references and causal connections explicit to improve the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “biodiversity,” “pesticides,” “natural habitats,” “deforestation,” and “climate change.” These terms help communicate the environmental issues, and attempts at more formal phrasing show ambition. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “a detrimental harm,” “in a massive scale,” and “clearing forests after forests.” There are also spelling errors in “Symbotic,” “Addionally,” and “tempature,” which reduce accuracy. Choose established collocations and check spelling carefully; for instance, “severe damage,” “on a massive scale,” and “clearing large areas of forest” would express your ideas more naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including relative clauses (“birds whose main prey were these insects”) and cause-and-effect structures. Most ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors occur in sentence construction, agreement, articles, and punctuation. For example, “Each life in nature is dependent upon one another” has a mismatch between the singular subject and “one another,” while “the number of birds … are dwindling” uses a plural verb with a singular subject. The sentence beginning “Additionally” is also a fragment because it lacks a main verb. Review subject–verb agreement, article use, and sentence boundaries, then proofread longer sentences to ensure each has a complete, correctly punctuated structure.

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