Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-27

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 play an important role in an environment. Some people argue that, loss of flora and fauna is due to environmental issues including deforestation, global warming and pollution. While others believe, it would be due to some environmental disasters like flooding. In my opinion, it is collectively due to environmental issues.

Biodiversity plays a significant role in the development of a country but sometimes, due to deforestation, plants and animals lose their habitat and species become extinct. Moreover, global warming and the greenhouse effect destroyed species due to harmful gasses. Burning of fossil fuel and emission of methane gasses are harmful for the health of both plants and animals. All marine life will also be destroyed.

On the other hand, opponents believe that it would be due to ecological changes like flooding or natural disasters. A large number of flora and fauna are destroyed and an economy faces severe damage. All crops may undergo an insect-pest attack. Sometimes, starvation of food may cause extinction.

In my opinion, although some environmental factors are responsible for the losses and natural problems of a particular area cannot be neglected.

In conclusion, all factors are involved in losses, so we should restrict these by improving environmental factors as well as natural resources of an ecosystem.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You introduce the topic and give a general position that environmental factors are collectively responsible, and you include points about habitat loss, greenhouse gases and flooding. However, the task asks you to compare species loss with other environmental problems, and the discussion does not clearly explain what the “more important” problems are or why they may be more important. The flooding paragraph mainly describes damage to wildlife and the economy, rather than developing a distinct case for other environmental concerns. Your opinion also shifts: the opening says the causes are collective, while the later sentence beginning “although” is incomplete and leaves your view unclear. The response is 37 words below the required minimum, which limits the development and support of your ideas. Explain both views more fully and state a consistent opinion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Connectors such as “Moreover,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help signal the direction of the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear. For example, the move from species loss to “All marine life will also be destroyed” is abrupt and unsupported, while the flooding paragraph shifts from wildlife to economic damage, crops and starvation without explaining how these points connect. The sentence beginning “In my opinion, although…” does not complete its contrast, interrupting the argument. To improve, organise each paragraph around one main claim, explain the link between examples, and use referencing that makes clear what “these” refers to in the conclusion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “biodiversity,” “deforestation,” “greenhouse effect,” “fossil fuel,” and “extinction,” which allows you to discuss environmental issues. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “plays a significant role” and “faces severe damage.” However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or imprecise: “harmful gasses” is repeated, “starvation of food” is unnatural, and “restrict these” does not clearly express what should be limited. “Environmental factors” is also repeated without specifying the particular pressures involved. Aim for more precise terms and natural combinations, such as “greenhouse-gas emissions,” “food shortages,” and “reduce these impacts.” Check spelling and word forms as well, including “gases.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a contrast with “While others believe…” and a cause-and-effect sentence beginning “Sometimes.” Most of the main ideas remain understandable, but errors in sentence construction and punctuation recur. In the introduction, “Some people argue that, loss…” has an unnecessary comma and lacks the article before “loss”; “While others believe, it would be due…” is not correctly joined to the preceding sentence. The sentence “In my opinion, although some environmental factors are responsible…” is incomplete because the although-clause has no main clause. There are also agreement and article problems in phrases such as “a environment” and “a large number … are destroyed” where the intended referent is unclear. Practise complete complex sentences and check articles, clause boundaries and punctuation.

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