Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-02

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)

In contemporary society, Plastic is ubiquitous all over the world. Every single industry such as manufacturing, packaging and retail use items made of plastic which arise a threat to the environment. However, this issue can be mitigate with the collective efforts of government and society. This essay will discuss the both before reaching a feasible conclusion.

One compelling damage of plastic usage is that it leads to air, water and soil pollution. Vast use of plastic results in excessive amount of waste everywhere on land, water and in air when it burn. Consequently, it downgrade quality of nature. For instance, one popular research data explicts that majority of garbage have plastic bottle, bags and packaging rather than organic. Additionally, plastic takes thousands of years to decompose that process resulting imbalance in eco-system and have adverse impact on living creatures. Sometimes it blocks internal organ of animals which leads to their death and serious illness. Thus, plastic things have negative impact not only on environment, but also have adverse effects on living creatures.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, reaching only 172 words. Consequently, the development of ideas is significantly curtailed. While the introduction identifies the problem and mentions the role of government and society, the essay only addresses the first part of the prompt (the damage caused by plastic). The second part of the prompt, regarding solutions, is completely omitted. Because the response is incomplete and under-length, it cannot be awarded a score higher than 5.0 for Task Achievement, as it fails to address all parts of the task and lacks the necessary depth to explore the issues raised.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay shows a basic attempt at logical organization. There is an introduction and one body paragraph. However, the lack of a conclusion and the failure to address the second half of the prompt means there is no overall progression. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Consequently', 'Additionally', and 'Thus', but they are sometimes used mechanically. Paragraphing is insufficient because the essay is too short to demonstrate a full structure. The flow of ideas is interrupted by the abrupt ending, which prevents the reader from seeing a cohesive argument develop throughout the piece.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You use some relevant terms like 'ubiquitous', 'decompose', and 'eco-system', which is positive. However, there are several word-choice errors, such as 'explicts' (likely meant 'explicitly' or 'indicates') and 'downgrade quality' (should be 'degrades the quality'). The phrasing 'arise a threat' is also incorrect; it should be 'pose a threat'. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and ensuring that word forms are used correctly in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. For example, 'Every single industry... use items' should be 'uses items' (subject-verb agreement). 'When it burn' should be 'when it is burned' (passive voice/tense). 'Majority of garbage have plastic bottle' should be 'The majority of garbage contains plastic bottles'. These errors are frequent enough to be noticeable. While the meaning is generally understandable, the lack of control over basic grammatical structures prevents a higher score.

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