Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-15

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)

Plants and animals are an essential part in life cycle. Today some poeple says that the main problem in environment of this era is the defficiency of specific varieties of plants and animals and some other people opinion is that the defficiency of species are not main envvironmental problem therre are many other problems that are much critical. I will explain both views and give my own opinion.

On the one hand, some people think loss of particular species of plants and animals is the mai environmentl problem. Firstly, some people thinks defficency of some rare palnts to lead to defficency of food for some animals. For example, the pandas mostly like bamboo palnt for eating. In addition, some people says that loss of plants can cause deffiency of oxygen and aslo cause excess of carbon dioxide that effects environment. Furthermore, some people says that lack of palnts can cause less rain fall that cause smog in air and also disturbs the air quality for breathing. Moreover, some people argue that some particular anmals cause environmental problem like when there is no snakes the number of fogs and rats will increase and rats cause different environmental problems such as they release smell that is harmful in air quality.

On the contrary, other people thinks there are many more envirnmental problems than loss of plants and animals. To begin with, some people argue that traffic is more critical environmental problem because traffic cause air and noise pollutiuon. Additionaly, some people say excess use of fertilizers and poison in crops can cause serious environmental problems like bad affect in underground water and in soil.

To conclude, different people say different about main environmental problem. I think plants and animals play a particular role in keeping environment fresh and we must try to save particular species of plants and animals.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both views and give a personal position, so the response is relevant to the task. The first body paragraph offers several reasons for protecting species, including the relationship between bamboo and pandas and the role of plants in air quality. However, some explanations are unclear or insufficiently supported, and the point about snakes, frogs and rats is difficult to follow. The opposing view is less fully developed: traffic pollution and agricultural chemicals are named, but their effects are not explained with examples or detail. Your conclusion supports conservation, but it does not clearly weigh this against the other environmental problems. Develop both sides more evenly and state explicitly which problem you consider most important. The response meets the required length; eight words copied from the prompt were excluded from the count.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. This makes the overall arrangement coherent, and signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the contrary,” and “To conclude” help readers follow the discussion. However, the progression within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical because many points begin with “some people” and are linked by a sequence of “Firstly,” “In addition,” and “Furthermore.” Some connections between ideas are also unclear, particularly the move from reduced rainfall to smog and the example involving snakes and rats. Use fewer repeated reporting phrases, group related points, and make the cause-and-effect links explicit. This would make cohesion more natural and references easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “species,” “air and noise pollution,” “fertilizers,” and “underground water,” which helps communicate the subject. However, the range is limited and several words or phrases are repeated, especially “defficiency” and “environmental problem.” Frequent spelling errors, such as “poeple,” “envvironmental,” and “pollutiuon,” are noticeable and can slow the reader. Some choices are also imprecise or unnatural: “plants play a particular role” and “bad affect in underground water” do not express the intended meaning clearly. Build a more accurate set of environmental terms and check spelling and collocations carefully. More precise wording would help you explain impacts without relying on repeated general phrases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, and the essay’s main message is generally understandable. However, control is inconsistent, particularly in subject–verb agreement and sentence construction. For example, “some people says” and “traffic cause” need plural subjects with the correct verb forms, while “some people opinion is” lacks a clear grammatical structure. Several clauses are joined without a clear relationship, as in the sentence about plants, rainfall and air quality, making the meaning harder to follow. Articles and plural forms also need attention. Practise building accurate complex sentences with clear subjects and verbs, and check agreement in every clause. Greater control of these patterns would make your explanations easier to understand.

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.