Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-21
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
Some people believe that it is best to accept a bad situation, such as an unsatisfactory job or shortage of money. Others argue that it is better to try and improve such situations.
Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
Student answer (Band 4.5)
SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT THE LOSS OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS IS THE BIGGEST ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM AND OTHER BELIEVE THAT PROBLEMS SUCH AS CLIMATE CHANGE AND POLLUTION ARE SERIOUS. I BELIEVE THAT BOTH ARE IMPORTANT BUT CLIMATE CHANGE AND POLLITION CAN AFFECT THE WHOLE PLANET.
ON ONE HAND MANY PLANTS AND ANIMAL ARE BECOMING ENDANGERED OR AXTINCT BECAUSE OF DEFORESTATION , HUNTING AND THE DESTRUCTION OF NATURAL HABITATS. EVERY PLANT AND ANIMAL HAS IMPORTANT TOLE IN ECOSYSTEM. THERFORE WHEN ONE SPECIES DISAPPEARS IT CAN AFFECT OTHER SPECIES AND DISTURB THE NATURAL VALANCE. FOR EXAMPLE, THE LOSS OF CERTAIN INSECTS CAN AFFECT THE POLLINATION OF PLANTS AND REDUCE FOOD SUPPLIES FOR OTHER ANIMALS.
ON OTHER HAND THERE ARE SEVERAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS THAT MAY BE MORE SERIOUS. ONE OF THEM IS CLIMATE CHANGE WHICH CAN CAUSE RISING TEMPURATURES , HEATWAVES AND MELTINF ICE. ANOTHER MAJOR ISSUE IS POLLUTION. AIR POLLUTION CAN CAUSE HEALTH RELATED PROBLEMS, WHILE WATER POLLUTION CAN HARM MARIAN LIFE AND MAKE WATER UNSAFE FOR PEOPLE. IN ADDITION PLASTIC WASTE IS BECOMMING A SERIOUS PROBLEM BECUSE IT CAN REMAIN IN THE ENVIRONMENT FOR MANY YEARS.
IN MY OPINION THE LOSS OF SPECIES SHOULD NOT IGNORED BUT CLIMATE CHANGE AND POLLUTION ARE BROADER PROBLEM BECAUSE THEY CAN AFFECT PEOPLE , ANIMAL , PLANTS AND NATURAL RESOURCES AROUND THE WORLD. THEREFORE GOVERMENT AND INDIVIDUAL SHOULD WORK TOGETHER TO REDUCE POLLUTION , PEOTECT NATURAL HABITATS.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 3.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 3.0
The student has unfortunately attempted the wrong essay prompt in their response. While the instructions and stimulus provided in the prompt concern choosing between accepting a bad situation versus trying to improve it, the student instead wrote an essay discussing whether biodiversity loss is a worse environmental problem than climate change and pollution. This is a complete task mismatch, which directly violates the core requirements of Task Achievement. Furthermore, the response is written entirely in uppercase letters and falls short of the 250-word minimum, containing only 231 words. Consequently, the position is misaligned with the actual prompt, and ideas are developed in response to an entirely different question. Based on the official descriptors for addressing the task and presenting a relevant position, this aspect of the writing cannot achieve a passing band score. Therefore, a band score of 3.0 is assigned to reflect this fundamental misunderstanding of the prompt.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
Despite the severe off-topic nature of the content, the essay demonstrates some basic structural awareness. The student uses standard paragraphing, dividing the response into a clear introduction, two body paragraphs addressing contrasting views, and a conclusion. Basic cohesive devices and transition signals such as ON ONE HAND, ON OTHER HAND, and FOR EXAMPLE are employed to link ideas, although they are somewhat mechanical. Referencing is generally clear, and the overall arrangement follows a logical pattern typical of a standard IELTS essay structure. However, paragraphing mechanics are affected by the use of all-caps throughout the text, and progression is occasionally hindered by abrupt transitions. When evaluated purely on the student's ability to organise and sequence text, the performance aligns best with the Band 5 descriptors, which note some organisation despite limitations in overall cohesion.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student displays a limited but minimally adequate range of vocabulary for discussing environmental topics, using terms such as DEFORESTATION, HABITATS, ECOSYSTEM, and CLIMATE CHANGE. However, there are numerous spelling errors throughout the response, including AXTINCT for extinct, TOLE for role, THERFORE for therefore, VALANCE for balance, TEMPURATURES for temperatures, MELTINF for melting, MARIAN for marine, BECOMMING for becoming, BECUSE for because, IGNORED (missing 'be'), GOVERMENT for government, and PEOTECT for protect. These spelling mistakes and minor word choice issues are frequent and noticeable, though they rarely impede the reader's overall understanding of the general concepts being discussed. Because the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the basic ideas despite the high frequency of surface-level errors, this criterion corresponds to a Band 5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses and conditional ideas, such as 'WHEN ONE SPECIES DISAPPEARS IT CAN AFFECT OTHER SPECIES' and 'CLIMATE CHANGE WHICH CAN CAUSE RISING TEMPURATURES'. However, grammatical control is weak. There are frequent punctuation errors, missing articles, and missing auxiliary verbs, such as 'EVERY PLANT AND ANIMAL HAS IMPORTANT TOLE' missing an article, and 'SHOULD NOT IGNORED' missing the passive auxiliary 'be'. Additionally, sentences lack proper lowercase and uppercase formatting since the entire text is written in block capitals. While the basic grammatical intent can be discerned, the high density of errors places the writing firmly within the Band 5 range, where frequent errors in grammar and punctuation are characteristic.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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