Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-12

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 people say the main environmental problem is endangered species. Other says that there are more environmental problems but in my opinion, pollution is the adverse environmental problem because of its severity.

Endangered species known as extinct species of plants and animals is the crucial environmental problem.One of the reason is that as the population grows rapidly the animals and plants scarcity occurs. Another reason of endangered species is climate change habitat of organisms either it is plants and animals. When some of the species get extinct, there is disturbance caused in food chain.

There are more environmental problems such as climate change, floods, earthquakes, drought, volcanic eruption, smog. It all has their own defects.

In 2022 India , flood occured and it cause a human death ratio increases to hundreds daily. Many of the people loss their properties and as a result they are homeless. Another problem arises due to flood are transport issues and network damage as well as health related diseases.

In my opinion, pollution is the main and devastating environmental problem in developing countries like Pakistan and India. Due to over population, harmful industrial effluents release, waste drained into river they are the major causes of pollution.

In conclusion, endangered species have their own importance and other environmental problems is also crucial but i believe that pollution is the problematic environmental issue.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both views and state your own position: you discuss species loss, mention other environmental problems, and conclude that pollution is the most serious. However, the discussion is only partial and the ideas are under-developed. The species paragraph gives reasons and notes disruption to the food chain, but does not explain why this makes species loss the main problem for those who hold that view. The flood example illustrates harm to people and infrastructure, yet it does not clearly compare floods with species loss or support your stated view that pollution is the greatest concern. The response is also 24 words below the required minimum. Develop each side with a specific explanation or example, and make the reasoning behind your opinion more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate discussion of species loss and other problems, your opinion, and a conclusion. This helps the reader follow the broad direction of the argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear: the paragraph listing climate change, floods, earthquakes, drought and volcanic eruptions moves quickly to a flood example without explaining how these issues relate or which are most important. Linking phrases such as “Another reason” and “In conclusion” are useful, but connections between claims are often mechanical or incomplete. For example, the shift from floods to pollution is abrupt. Organise the body around the two views, use clearer topic sentences, and add transitions that show how each example supports the point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant environmental vocabulary, including “endangered species,” “food chain,” “climate change,” “industrial effluents” and “pollution.” This gives the response enough topic-specific language to communicate its main ideas. However, the range is limited and several choices or combinations are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes meaning less clear. For instance, “animals and plants scarcity occurs” and “human death ratio increases” do not express the intended ideas naturally, while “it all has their own defects” is vague. Spelling errors such as “occured” and “loss” also affect accuracy. Build a wider set of precise collocations for environmental impacts and check word forms and spelling; this will make your explanations clearer and more convincing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a conditional structure in “When some of the species get extinct, there is disturbance caused in food chain.” However, the range remains limited, and errors are frequent enough to make some sentences difficult to read. Examples include “Other says,” “One of the reason,” and “It all has their own defects,” which show problems with agreement and number. The flood example also has faulty tense and sentence construction: “it cause a human death ratio increases to hundreds daily.” Articles and punctuation are inconsistent, as in “in food chain” and “In 2022 India , flood.” Practise accurate subject–verb agreement, articles, and past-tense clauses, then proofread each sentence for a complete, clear structure.

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