Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-09

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)

In recent decades, environmental degradation has become a serious global concern. Although many people believe that the loss of particular species of plants and animals are the main cause of environmental problem, others argue that there are plenty of reasons for this. This essay will discuss both perspectives before presenting my own opinion.

On the one hand, loss of biodiversity can cause environmental problems. This is because biodiversity helps maintain ecological balance, provide food and medicines. For example, many medicines are obtained from plants. Quinine, which is extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree. As a result, people may suffer lack of food and medicines. Furhermore, deforestation has destroyed the habitats and fails to maintan ecological balance, so that carbon emission has increased and creates unsuitable environment for people and spacies to live.

On the other hand, ecological footprint is another crucial environmetal problem. This is because human activity such as littering, plastic consumption, traffic congestion and unfollow wildlife practices may creates unsuitable environment. For instance, most of the customers and sellars use plastic bags instead of paper or reusable bags. As a result, the quality of soil has damaged gradually and people do not get fresh fruits and vegetables. Moreover, because of irresponsibility of people, nature loss its beauty and peaceful environment, which creates an impact on country's economy.

In conclusion, in my opinion, both loss of bidodiversity and ecological footprint play a crucial role in environmental degradation. People should become more concern about the environment and try to protect plants and animals.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both views and state an opinion in the conclusion, identifying biodiversity loss and human environmental impact as important concerns. The quinine example is relevant, but the explanation that species loss leads to people suffering a lack of food and medicine is broad and needs clearer support. The second view is also underdeveloped: plastic use is illustrated, but the link from damaged soil to reduced access to fresh produce is not fully explained. Your position that both problems matter is clear at the end, though it could be stated more directly in the introduction. The response is 246 words, four words below the required minimum; this limits the space available to develop the discussion fully. Add specific explanation and examples for each view.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. This makes the main stages easy to identify, and signposts such as “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” help distinguish the perspectives. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear. In the first body paragraph, the move from quinine to deforestation and carbon emissions is abrupt, while the second paragraph combines plastic pollution, soil quality, food, and economic effects without showing each connection clearly. Some linking phrases, including repeated “This is because” and “As a result,” make the organisation feel mechanical. Develop one cause-and-effect chain at a time and use clearer references to connect each example to the paragraph’s main point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant environmental vocabulary, including “biodiversity,” “ecological balance,” “deforestation,” and “carbon emission,” which helps communicate the topic. There are also attempts at more specific language, such as “ecological footprint” and “traffic congestion.” However, several spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, including “Furhermore,” “maintan,” “spacies,” “environmetal,” and “bidodiversity.” Some expressions are also unnatural or unclear, such as “unfollow wildlife practices,” “nature loss its beauty,” and “creates an impact on country's economy.” Choose accurate collocations and check spelling carefully; for example, describe “harmful wildlife practices” and say that nature “loses its beauty.” This would make your ideas easier to understand and give the vocabulary you already use greater control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, using clauses with “although,” “because,” and “which,” as well as a relative clause in “Quinine, which is extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree.” However, that relative clause is a sentence fragment and needs to be joined to a complete main clause. Agreement and verb-form errors also occur, as in “loss … are,” “biodiversity helps … provide,” “may creates,” and “nature loss.” Articles and sentence construction need attention too, particularly in “suffer lack of food” and “creates unsuitable environment.” These errors sometimes make relationships between ideas harder to follow, although the overall meaning is generally recoverable. Practise checking each sentence for a complete subject and verb, then review agreement and verb forms, especially after modal verbs such as “may.”

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