Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-28

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)

There is a belief that extinction of particular species of plants and animals are the main environental problem of our time, while other people think that there are more important environmental problems. I completely disagree with this as extinction of particular plants and animals is a major contributor but there are far more important issues that contribute more.

First of all the major contributor of environmental problem of our time is burning of fossil fuel and organic compounds. As buring these produces higher concentration of carbon dioxide in air that is elevating the global average temperature. Consiquences are being seen in many countries where average summer temperature often touch 50 degree celcius, more than any human or livingthing can withstand for long period of time. Consequently, changing the environment at such extent that it become dangerous to people.

Furthermore, pollution in oceans and water bodies had adverse effect on our environment as well. Due to the pollution plastic is being introduced in the food of the aquatic life. These are consumed by human being micro plastic is introduced in our system as well causing many health related problems. Studies showed that every human's blood now contained some concentration of microplastic. Consequently, pollution overall affecting all the living beings on the planet and a grave problem for our time.

In conclusion, loss of particular species of plants and animals are a major problem but the major contributors to environmental problems are plastic pollution and burning of organic compounds as discussed earlier for our time. If necessary steps are not taken this could greatly effect our future generations.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing the view that species loss is the primary environmental issue, the alternative perspective, and clearly stating the writer's own opinion that other problems are more significant. The main ideas are relevant and supported with examples such as burning fossil fuels and plastic pollution in oceans. However, the development of ideas tends to be a bit repetitive, particularly regarding the consequences of these issues. While the position is maintained throughout, the ideas could be more deeply extended to fully achieve a higher band descriptor. Minor inaccuracies in task focus, such as the slight over-generalisation of consequences, place this securely in the Band 6 category, where all parts are addressed though some aspects are under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct main ideas, such as fossil fuel combustion and plastic pollution. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical, relying on repetitive transitional phrases like 'Consequently' and basic connectors like 'First of all' and 'Furthermore'. Referencing is generally clear, but the logical progression between sentences within paragraphs occasionally stumbles due to abrupt shifts in ideas, such as moving from aquatic life directly to human blood testing without a smooth bridging clause. These mechanical features and occasional lapses in cohesive flow align with the Band 6 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'extinction', 'carbon dioxide', 'global average temperature', and 'microplastic'. However, there are notable spelling errors and word choice inaccuracies, such as 'environental' instead of 'environmental', 'buring' instead of 'burning', and 'Consiquences' instead of 'Consequences'. The writer attempts less common vocabulary, but these lexical errors and occasional awkward collocations, like 'pollution overall affecting all the living beings', indicate a limited control of word formation and spelling, capping the lexical score at a Band 5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures such as conditional sentences ('If necessary steps are not taken this could greatly effect our future generations') and subordinate clauses. However, grammatical errors are frequent and occasionally impede readability. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('extinction of particular species of plants and animals are' instead of 'is'), missing articles ('in air' instead of 'in the air'), and punctuation errors. Furthermore, verbs are sometimes misused, such as 'could greatly effect' instead of 'affect'. Because these frequent errors cause occasional difficulty for the reader despite the mix of structures, a Band 5 is appropriate.

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