Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-11

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)

An environment is complete and safe with all its elements, such as plants, animals, rocks, mountains, rivers, streams, human beings, and others. All the elements should be in balanced proportion, and any disorder or change may disrupt the balance. Several individuals argue that the major environmental issue is the extinction of various plant and animal species. Others believe that other issues are more severe than plants and animals. my opinion, although plants and animals are of great importance, there are several more severe problems.

Actually, the extinction of living organisms and other environmental problems such as pollution are interconnected. The pollution is caused by overpopulation and human interference. With human development and advances in transportation, people started settling on those islands that remained untouched for thousands of years. For instance, many bird, animal, and even plant species were lost after human settlement, such as the kakapo, red deer, and a type of rhino. Also, another reason is pollution. Environmental pollution causes natural disasters such as tsunamis, heavy rains, and lower sea levels.

The increasing use of fossil fuels, i.e air pollution, land pollution, and water pollution are more severe threat and is even connected to the loss of certain species of plants and animals. I'd like to mention that a concerning problem is the deformation of the ozone layer due to air pollution. The UV rays emitted from sunlight will now directly affect people's skin and will cause skin cancer. There are many environmental problems even more dangerous than the loss of certain living organisms.

In conclusion, most people do not recognize the depth of dangers. Many severe problems are becoming serious threats, which are more harmful than the loss of environmental elements.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both views and state your own position: you acknowledge species extinction, then argue that pollution and other environmental threats are more serious. The examples of human settlement affecting wildlife and the ozone layer help make the discussion relevant. However, the two sides are not developed evenly. The explanation of why species loss is a major problem is brief, and the claim that pollution causes tsunamis and lower sea levels is not clearly explained or supported. Your opinion is present, but the conclusion mainly repeats that other problems are more harmful rather than explaining why. Develop each view with a clear cause-and-effect explanation and use accurate, specific examples to support your comparison.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion, and the reader can generally follow your main position. Linking expressions such as “For instance,” “Also,” and “In conclusion” help signal examples and stages of the argument. However, progression within the body paragraphs is sometimes unclear: the discussion moves from human settlement to pollution and then to natural disasters without showing how each point connects. Some references, such as “other issues” and “many severe problems,” remain broad, while repeated use of “pollution” makes the links feel mechanical. Organise each paragraph around one main claim, then explain and illustrate it before moving to the next point.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “extinction,” “human interference,” “fossil fuels,” “ozone layer,” and “UV rays.” These terms show an attempt to discuss environmental issues with some specificity, and the meaning is generally understandable. There are, however, several imprecise or unnatural choices, such as “balanced proportion,” “deformation of the ozone layer,” and “more severe threat.” Some wording also weakens accuracy: “natural disasters such as tsunamis” is not a convincing example of pollution’s effects. Aim for more precise environmental collocations and distinguish clearly between causes, consequences and examples. This would make your argument sound more controlled and help you use less common vocabulary accurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including the conditional structure “any disorder or change may disrupt the balance” and the clause beginning “although plants and animals are of great importance.” Most of the argument remains understandable, but some grammatical errors and punctuation problems are noticeable. For example, “my opinion” is missing “In,” and “The increasing use of fossil fuels … are more severe threat” has problems with agreement and the singular article. The long opening list also makes the first sentence difficult to manage. Check subject–verb agreement, articles and sentence boundaries, and revise long sentences so that each has a clear subject and main verb. More accurate control of these forms would strengthen the range you are already attempting.

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