Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-24

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 5.0)

The loss of particular species of plants and animals has little to do with environmental problem . While, land pollution , water pollution , air pollution lead to health degradation and climate change -triggering one of the biggest environmental problems.

Opinions diverge people to people , some people are of view that the loss of particular species and animals may give birth to envirnmental problems . While in my perspective , there are plenty of factors that can trigger environmental problems but not the loss of species and animals .

To begin with, land pollution is directly linked with environmental pollution . For instance, the construction of factories and waste of people pollute the land .Landfills are the biggest examples of this , that directly create link with air and pollute the environment. Addittionally , water pollution also contribute to environmrntal pollution . 70% of the world water is polluted by humans . Anthropogenic activities are the super examples of water pollution .All thse things cause climate change and global warming , resulting in floods earthquack , storms . Currently the temprature of the world is hotter than ever before . So all these issues ultimately lead to environmental problems .

Other group are oppined that loss of various types of animal and plant species cause environmental problems . They are right to some extant , for instance , plants absorb carbondioxide from the air and give oxygen to living beings . Furthermore , plants orevents climate change . In this regard the example of china is evident , as china is planting thousands of olants in desserts to prevent heat . Then came animals that are the main reason of maintianing eco-system .

Long story short, the loss of animal and plant species is not the main factor of environmental issues rather land water air and chemal pollutio that generte harmful chemical like sulphate and nitrogen , lead to environmental pollution.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both views and state a position: you argue that pollution is more serious, while acknowledging that species loss can harm ecosystems. Examples such as plants absorbing carbon dioxide and animals maintaining ecosystems are relevant. However, the response only partially develops the task. The first view is supported mainly by a list of pollution types and broad claims, while the opposing view receives less explanation; the claim that “70% of the world water is polluted” is also unsupported. Your position is not fully consistent: the opening says species loss has “little to do” with environmental problems, but later you accept its effects. Clarify that it is a serious problem but not the most important, then explain and support that comparison more carefully. The response meets the stated length requirement; nine words copied from the prompt were excluded from the count. (9 words copied from the task prompt were not counted.)

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some organisation: the response moves from your position to pollution, then to the view about species loss, and finally to a conclusion. Paragraphing helps distinguish these sections, and phrases such as “For instance” and “Furthermore” signal examples or additions. However, the overall progression is not consistently clear. The opening repeats the same position in two paragraphs, and several links are awkward or inaccurate, including “Opinions diverge people to people” and “Then came animals.” The conclusion introduces chemical pollution without developing it earlier. Improve cohesion by giving each paragraph one clear purpose, using references that identify the idea being discussed, and making the relationship between examples and your argument explicit rather than relying on repeated “pollution” and “environmental problems.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt some topic-specific vocabulary, including “landfills,” “anthropogenic activities,” “climate change,” and “ecosystem,” which helps convey the subject. However, the range is limited and several expressions are inaccurate, repetitive, or difficult to understand. For example, “health degradation,” “give birth to environmental problems,” and “create link with air” are not natural collocations in this context. Repeated use of “pollution” and “environmental problems” also limits precision. Spelling errors such as “envirnmental,” “Addittionally,” and “chemal” are noticeable and can slow the reader. Build a more reliable set of environmental collocations and check spelling; choose precise terms such as “damage human health,” “contribute to environmental damage,” and “contaminate the air.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a relative clause in “plants absorb carbon dioxide from the air and give oxygen to living beings” and a cause-and-effect structure beginning “So all these issues…”. However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. Examples include “Other group are oppined,” where the subject and verb do not agree, and “water pollution also contribute,” which has the same agreement problem. Articles and sentence boundaries are also inconsistent, as in “The loss … has little to do with environmental problem” and “Landfills are the biggest examples of this , that directly create link…”. Practise accurate agreement, articles, and punctuation, and build complex sentences around one clearly expressed main clause.

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.