Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-11-03

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)

It is often argued that the major environmental issue of the contemporary time is the loss of particular species of plants and animals. While few individuals believe that there are some other aspects that are detrimental to the environment. Although both views have valid arguments, I firmly believe that rapid industrialization is a major factor that is harming the ecosystem.

On the one hand, urbanisation is vary rapid. Individuals are using the great lands for construction and building purposes. Due to this, they are continuously damaging the habitat of particular species. This will lead to loss of animals; consequently, it disturbs the food chain of the ecosystem. For instance, if people keep utilising the greenlands for the infrastructure purposes, it will lead to reduction in natural herbs that use for making the medicines.

On the other hand, one of the biggest problems is pollution that badly affects our surroundings. The main one is air pollution. Nowadays, rapid growth of humans have surge the use of vehicles and people are using enough automobiles. These cars are causing the source air pollution due to the smoke that is coming out of the engines and mixing up in the atmosphere. When individuals inhale this polluted smoke, it will cause many breath problems like asthma and lung cancer. For instance, people living in big busy and noisy cities are more likely to have these kind of problms.

Additionally, this also cause a great destruction for the environment.

I firmly believe that people should not destroy the forests or wildlife for the sake of their constructions. Moreover, government should restrict them from deforestation and aware them about the advantages of wildlife and greenspaces that are beneficial for the surroundings. Futhermore, instead of fast vehicles like cars and bikes, it should made compulsory to utilise cycling that will not affect our environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both views: habitat loss is linked to damage to species and the food chain, while pollution is presented as a broader environmental concern. Your opinion is also stated clearly in the introduction and conclusion, with rapid industrialisation identified as a major cause of harm. However, the response only partly develops the comparison requested. The first body paragraph focuses on urbanisation and species loss, while the second shifts to air pollution and human health; the connection between industrialisation and the wider environmental problems could be explained more directly. Some support is also unclear, such as the point about herbs used for medicine. Develop each view with a more precise explanation or example, and make your final position on which problem is most important explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs signposted by “On the one hand” and “On the other hand,” and a concluding paragraph. This helps readers identify the two sides of the discussion. However, progression is uneven: the sentence “Additionally, this also cause a great destruction for the environment” is vague and does not clearly connect to the preceding point, and the conclusion introduces cycling without developing that idea earlier. Some linking is mechanical, and references such as “this” do not always identify a clear idea. Improve the flow by giving each paragraph one central point, linking examples explicitly to it, and ensuring the conclusion summarises the argument rather than adding a new recommendation.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “habitat,” “food chain,” “air pollution,” “deforestation,” and “wildlife,” and you attempt more formal expressions such as “detrimental to the environment.” However, the range is limited by repetition and several inaccurate or unnatural choices. For example, “using the great lands,” “greenlands,” and “enough automobiles” do not express the intended ideas naturally; “breath problems” and “these kind of problms” also weaken clarity. Spelling errors such as “vary,” “Futhermore,” and “problms” are noticeable. Build precision by learning common environmental collocations and checking word forms and spelling, while avoiding repeated general terms such as “people” and “environment.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including a conditional structure (“if people keep utilising…”) and a relative clause (“smoke that is coming out…”). These attempts show some range, but complex sentences are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make parts of the response difficult to follow. Examples include “rapid growth of humans have surge,” “this also cause,” and “it should made compulsory,” which contain problems with agreement, verb form, or missing auxiliaries. There are also issues with articles and sentence construction, as in “a great destruction” and the opening fragment beginning “While few individuals believe…”. Practise checking each sentence for a complete main clause, correct subject–verb agreement, and accurate verb forms before adding more complex structures.

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