Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-10

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)

Some believe that the primary cause of environmental problem of our time is the loss of particular species of plants and animals. While others argue that there are other major issue for environmental problems. I believe, on balance, loss of species of many plants and animals cause changes, but the major environmental problems are due to human activities.

On the one hand, decrease in species of plants and animals causes climate change, food chain error. For example, pegion species, not only it can eats insects that cause damage to agriculture crops, but also it helps in tranferring grains to different locations by flying and increas in plant population which is good for environment, decrease in these species can increase insect rations that damage crops and climate errors, so it is important to take care of plants and animals species.

On the other hand, increase in deforestration and vehical pollution by humans cause major damage to environmental by producing green house gases. For instance, cutting down the trees for house constructions increased these days, while the ratio of cars and other vehicals also increased in every house hold for their specific needs, which rose pollution at 2.5% each year in cities which causes dramatic climate changes every year like unexpected floods, damage to ozone layer etc., from this example we can understand that the human activities causing major damage to environment.

In conclusion, loss in species of plants and animals causes enivironmental damage, but human activities like deforestration and vehical pollution causing much more damage to environment, nevertheless it is important to maintain good habitat of birds and plants along with reducing the green house gases.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You discuss both views and state a clear position: species loss matters, but you consider human activity the greater threat. The two body paragraphs are relevant, and the examples of declining pigeon populations, deforestation and vehicle use help illustrate your points. However, some reasoning is unclear or insufficiently developed. The pigeon example makes several claims about insects, crops and plant growth without clearly explaining how these effects compare with wider environmental threats. The figure that pollution rose “at 2.5% each year” is also unsupported or unexplained. To strengthen the response, explain the consequences of species loss more precisely and develop the comparison that supports your opinion. The response meets the stated length requirement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, one paragraph for each view, and a conclusion that restates your position. Signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” make the progression easy to follow. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical, and some sentences contain too many linked ideas. The pigeon example, for instance, moves from insects to crop damage, grain transfer and climate effects in one long sentence, making the relationships difficult to track. The conclusion also repeats the main points rather than drawing them together. Use shorter, more clearly organised sentences and make references such as “these species” and “this example” unambiguous.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “species,” “food chain,” “deforestation,” “greenhouse gases” and “ozone layer,” so the reader can understand the environmental focus. There are also attempts to express specific effects, such as “dramatic climate changes.” However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation and spelling errors reduce precision: “food chain error,” “insect rations,” “environmental damage,” and “pollution at 2.5%” are unclear or unnatural in context. Spellings such as “pegion,” “tranferring,” “deforestration” and “vehicals” also need attention. Build a more accurate set of topic collocations and check spelling, especially for key terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “while,” “which” and “but,” and your main argument remains understandable. However, control is inconsistent, particularly in longer sentences. For example, “While others argue…” is a fragment, and “I believe, on balance, loss of species … cause changes” has problems with article use and subject–verb agreement. In “the human activities causing major damage,” the verb form is incomplete; it should be “human activities are causing” or “human activities cause.” There are also errors with plurals and sentence boundaries. Practise building complex sentences around one clear main clause, then check agreement, articles and verb forms.

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