Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-07-31

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 7.0)

A growing number of people believe that plastic litter is one of the serious issue for environment. Using plastic bottles, bags and packaging pollute land, water and air over time and damage marine life. Therefore, governments and individuals have to give their contribution for the environmental protection.

Plastic items have been significantly damage our environment. Firstly, excessive use of plastic bags contaminate soil fertility, as it is non-biodegradable substances which do not decompose easily in the land and over time it hamper the quality of soil. Consequently, it address worsen situation for the agricultural land and would be challenging for the farmers to cultivation the crops. Also, burning air of plastic waste release toxic gas into environment, which pollute atmosphere and it would be arduous for the people to take fresh air for breathing. Apart from that, dumping the plastic bags into ocean sometimes enter in the body of marine animals, which dramatically damage their digestive and reproductive systems. As a result, it is responsible for extinction of various species of sea creatures.

Therefore, proactive steps are needed in order to conserve the environment for the future generations. Firstly, higher authorities should impose strict rules regarding banning of single-used plastic and promote the people to brings clothing or paper bags while shopping. Moreover, local community should throw plastic items in recycling bins and taking part in awareness campaigns for the preservation of nature and planting more tress. Additionally, government should introduce recycling centres in the big cities and put dustbins on the tourist locations in order to prevent the dumping of waste in the ocean.

In conclusion, plastic waste become a serious problem for the governments in today's times, which is key factor for air, water and soil pollution. Therefore, banning single-used plastic, planting more trees, putting label dustbins on the natural places and introducing recycling plants play a pivotal for environmental conservation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, identifying environmental damage and proposing solutions for both governments and individuals. The ideas are relevant and clearly presented. However, some points could be developed further; for instance, the explanation of how plastic affects marine life is good, but the solutions section could benefit from more specific examples or deeper analysis of why certain measures are effective. The position is clear throughout, and the structure follows a logical flow that satisfies the requirements of the task. Overall, the response is well-focused and directly answers the questions asked.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Moreover', 'Consequently', and 'In conclusion' are used effectively to link sentences and paragraphs. While the flow is generally smooth, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with referencing (e.g., 'it address worsen situation'). Despite these small lapses, the paragraphing is appropriate, and the overall structure supports the reader's understanding of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There is an attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary such as 'non-biodegradable', 'toxic gas', and 'environmental conservation'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'significantly damage' (should be 'significantly damaged'), 'take fresh air' (should be 'breathe fresh air'), and 'label dustbins'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the score. Expanding the range of synonyms and focusing on natural collocations would help elevate the lexical score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the writer attempts complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb forms and subject-verb agreement, such as 'plastic items have been significantly damage' and 'it address worsen situation'. Punctuation is generally functional, but there are minor errors in phrasing and word order. The errors are noticeable but rarely prevent the reader from understanding the intended meaning. To improve, the writer should focus on consistent tense usage and ensuring that complex sentence structures are grammatically sound.

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