Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Environmental issue is a major problem in today's time to all our lives and to the future as well. Some individuals state that the main reason for the environmental issue is the extinction of few plants and animals while many people add other more important reasons for the problem. In my opinion, i think there are more concerning issues rather than extinction of few species. I will dicuss both the views with examples and conclusion.

Few lost plants that worked in improving the air quality specially, by increasing the amount of rain in the surroundings. Therefore, scarcity of rainfall is one of the major reasons of environmental damages. Also, the animals that existed which worked in the betterment of the sorroundings by eating endangered species specifically the ones destroying the plants and nature are now gone.

However, there are many more important factors to address leading to the environmental damage. The biggest factor is the human caused problems, such as releasing greenhouse gases and carbon monxide in the atmosphere. This destroys ozone layers and acts as a catalyst in the melting of the glaciers, which in fact is the biggest concern right now in the world. Another factor is cutting down forests and trees which ultimately constricts the rainfall and comes wth other dangers as well.

Furthermore, there may be some natural processes that can endanger an environment. For example, earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, volcanoes and many more. But this is not as dangerous as human related problems.

There can be many reasons for the cause of environmental damages. From natural processes to human afflicting problems. I think human causing issues are far more endangering than the loss of some Specified plants and animals. If this issue is not tackled now, it could be far more problemistic in the future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You present a clear overall view that human-caused problems are more concerning than species loss, and you discuss both sides. The examples of greenhouse gases, forest clearance and the role of animals in ecosystems are relevant. However, the discussion of species loss is brief and partly unclear: the claim that lost plants increased rainfall, for instance, needs explanation or a more precise example. The paragraph on natural disasters is less directly connected to the comparison in the question, which asks about other environmental problems rather than natural hazards generally. Your position is repeated in the introduction and conclusion, but the supporting ideas remain limited and some claims are broad. Develop each side with clearer cause-and-effect reasoning and specific examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate discussion paragraphs and a conclusion. Sequencing words such as “However,” “Furthermore” and “Therefore” help signal relationships between ideas. Nevertheless, progression is sometimes mechanical, and the paragraph beginning “Furthermore” introduces natural disasters without clearly linking them to the main comparison. Some connections are also difficult to follow, such as the relationship between species loss and rainfall, or between greenhouse gases and ozone-layer damage. The conclusion repeats the position but does not bring the main arguments together. Use clearer topic sentences and make each paragraph develop one central point, with references that show how examples support that point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “greenhouse gases,” “ozone layers,” “glaciers” and “endangered species,” which helps communicate the subject. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “leading to the environmental damage.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, including “environmental issue” for a broad range of problems, “few lost plants,” “human afflicting problems” and “more problemistic.” Spelling errors such as “monxide,” “sorroundings” and “dicuss” also reduce accuracy. Some repetition of “problem” and “environmental damage” limits flexibility. Build a more precise range of environmental terms and check spelling and collocations when revising.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “while,” “which” and “if,” and the overall meaning is usually understandable. However, control is inconsistent, particularly in longer sentences. For example, “Few lost plants that worked in improving the air quality” is not a complete, well-formed sentence, and “There can be many reasons… From natural processes…” leaves a fragment. There are also errors in articles, agreement and sentence construction, as in “Environmental issue is a major problem” and “the animals that existed which worked.” Capitalisation and punctuation need attention, including the lowercase “i” and the comma splice in “From natural processes to human afflicting problems.” Practise complete sentences and review article use and clause boundaries.

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