Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-08
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 5.5)
This essay suggests that the environment is adversely affected by plastic materials such as plastic bags, plastic bottles and plastic packaging. It is causing harm to the environment as well as human beings, which should be minimised by installing fac
One of the alarming reasons of using plastic products is that these are non biodegradable and cancerous. Which is the main reason of pollution. While disposing off the waste material on a large scale, it's mostly burnt, which in turn produces flames and fumes of plastic. Those gases are injurious to environment and health too. The pollution caused, results in climate change, agricultural destruction, and health crisis.
The environment that has microplastic in it, directly affects people. The acid rain is one of the biggest reasons of excessive use of plastic products.
It is very crucial to solve this issue by putting efforts individually as well as on a government level. Above all, the plastic producing factories should be banned, with a fat financial penalty if reopened. Secondly, a clear and useful strategy should be made for disposing off the waste materials on a larger scale. Factories should be installed in order to reuse the waste products that still have some significance. Plastic should be replaced with biodegradable items, such as shopping bags, cups, straws etc.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the environmental damage caused by plastic and potential solutions. However, the essay is significantly under the 250-word minimum requirement, which limits the depth of development. The ideas, such as the mention of 'acid rain' as a result of plastic, are not factually accurate or well-supported, and the argument lacks the necessary elaboration to reach a higher band. The introduction is incomplete, ending abruptly with 'installing fac'. Because the response is under-length and the ideas are underdeveloped, it fails to fully address the prompt.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into three short paragraphs, which provides a basic structure. There is some attempt at logical progression, moving from the problem to the solution. However, the use of cohesive devices is mechanical and sometimes awkward, such as the transition 'Above all' used to introduce a solution. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the abrupt ending of the first paragraph disrupts the flow of the text. Paragraphing is present but the content within the paragraphs lacks the necessary cohesion to guide the reader effectively.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There are some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'cancerous' to describe plastic, which is imprecise. The phrase 'fat financial penalty' is informal and inappropriate for an academic essay. While the student attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'non-biodegradable' and 'microplastic', the overall range is limited, and the repetition of basic terms like 'plastic products' and 'waste materials' restricts the lexical variety.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'One of the alarming reasons of using plastic products is that these are non biodegradable and cancerous. Which is the main reason of pollution.' The second sentence is a fragment. Punctuation is also inconsistent, and there are errors in preposition usage and sentence construction throughout. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of errors in basic grammar and sentence structure prevents a higher score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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