Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-06

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Plastic bags, plastic bottles and plastic packaging are bad for the environment.

What damage does plastic do to the environment?

What can be done by governments and individuals to solve this problem?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

 

Student answer (Band 6.0)

Nowadays, pollution has become one of the most serious environmental problem around the world. It has a negative impact on both human health and the natural environment. Therefore, many individuals believe that plastic products are bad for the environment. This essay will discuss the effects of this problem and also suggest some possible solutions to tackle this issue.

To begin with, it is easy to understand how plastic products are damaged environment badly. When people use plastic products excessively in their daily routine and they throw plastic bags and bottles in any where in the sourrounding area then it takes thousands of years to decompose and they also reduce the fertility of the soil. When people burn it then it realeases harmful gases into the air which can causes breathing problems and affect human health. Apart from this, when plastic products throw into the rivers, lakes and oceans and many marine animals may swallow plastic and died. Even many birds and animals trapped in plastic bags and they died. Thus, it creates problems for the over all eco-system.

On the other side, individuals and government can tackle this issue in several ways. Firstly, government should ban plastic bags and they can encourage people to use paper or cloth bags. Government should provide more recyling bins and people can seperate plastic, paper and glass waste. Government should organise seminars and campaigns and schools can also teach the hamful effect of plastic bags to the students. Moreover, people can use reusable and cloth bags for shopping and they can use stainless steels water bottle instead of plastic water bottles.

In the conclusion, government can only make rules and regulations, but, ultimately it is responsiblity of the people they follow all the rules and also teach their children how we can save environment and animals. When every individual take initiative then we can save the environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the task: it explains environmental damage, including soil degradation, air pollution from burning plastic, and harm to marine and other animals, then proposes actions for governments and individuals. The final point that public cooperation is needed alongside regulation also gives the response a clear overall position. Some ideas, however, are asserted rather than explained: for example, the effect on soil fertility and the consequences of plastic entering waterways could be developed with a clearer explanation or a relevant example. The solutions are relevant, but the roles of government and individuals sometimes overlap, and the effectiveness of measures such as campaigns is not explored. More specific support and fuller development would make the response more convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure, moving from an introduction to environmental effects, proposed solutions, and a conclusion. Paragraphing helps the reader distinguish the two main parts of the question, and signposts such as “To begin with” and “Moreover” make the progression easy to follow. However, some linking is mechanical or imprecise: “On the other side” is less suitable than a transition such as “To address these problems,” and repeated use of “and” makes several sentences feel like lists. References such as “it” in the discussion of burning plastic are not always immediately clear. Grouping related effects and solutions, and using more precise links between cause and consequence, would improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses enough topic vocabulary to communicate the main points, including “decompose,” “fertility of the soil,” “harmful gases,” “marine animals,” and “reusable.” It also attempts some less common environmental language, such as “eco-system.” However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or repetitive, as in “plastic products are damaged environment badly,” “in any where in the sourrounding area,” and “teach the hamful effect.” Spelling errors such as “recyling,” “seperate,” and “responsiblity” are noticeable and reduce the impression of control. Aim for more precise phrases and check spelling carefully; this would allow the relevant ideas to sound clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

There is an attempt to use both simple and complex sentence forms, particularly when explaining causes and effects with “When” clauses and when presenting solutions. The overall meaning remains understandable, but errors in agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence construction occur across the response. For example, “one of the most serious environmental problem” has a singular-plural mismatch, while “which can causes” and “may swallow plastic and died” use incorrect verb forms. Some sentences also combine several clauses without clear grammatical control, as in the sentence beginning “When people use plastic products excessively.” Practise checking subject–verb agreement and keeping verb forms consistent within each clause; clearer sentence boundaries would also help.

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