Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-06

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)

Plastic polythene, bottles and plastic packaging should be banned as it is harmful for environment. It damages the environment in many ways such as making the soil infertile. In coming paragraphs I will explain the damage caused to environment and what government should do to prevent it.

The plastic products adversely effect the fertility of soil by reducing the quality of soil as more and more plastic waste buried in soil and it takes hundred of years to decompose thus making the soil infertile for long term generating limited production overtime. Moreover, sometimes the garbage is thrown here and there and street animals in search of food eat those plastic bags that makes hard for them to breathe thus resulting in their death. It also effects the marine life when people throw them in sea and oceans as they eat it as food thus resulting in their death as well.

The particular solution for this

harm caused by non biodegradable material is banning the plastic material and using alternate materials such as cloth bags or reusable bags , instead of plastic bottle glass bottles should be used that can be recycled. Further government should put a fine on businesses selling single use plastic products so that it will not damage the environment anymore.

To summarize, we can say that plastic pollution effects the environment negatively and government should take actions such as banning of plastics and individuals should also try to use substitutes of polyester materials as its our responsibility to make sure the environment is safe for our future and upcoming generations.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, identifying environmental damage and suggesting solutions for both governments and individuals. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the explanation of soil infertility and the impact on animals is brief and lacks depth. While the position is clear, the arguments could be extended with more specific examples or a more nuanced discussion of the complexities of plastic pollution. The structure is logical, but the content remains at a general level, which prevents it from reaching the higher band descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central focus. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'further', and 'to summarize' are used to link ideas. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the transition between the problem and the solution could be smoother. The referencing is generally clear, though the use of 'it' and 'them' occasionally lacks a precise antecedent, which slightly affects the clarity of the argument. Overall, the progression of ideas is logical and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate their points clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'non-biodegradable' and 'substitutes', which are used correctly. However, there are recurring errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'adversely effect' (should be 'affect') and 'polyester materials' (when referring to plastic). The range is somewhat limited, and the repetition of basic terms like 'plastic' and 'environment' suggests a need for a broader range of synonyms to improve the sophistication of the writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement and article usage (e.g., 'harmful for environment' should be 'harmful to the environment'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some run-on sentences and missing commas. While these errors do not significantly impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. More attention to sentence variety and proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy is recommended.

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