Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-17

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 6.5)

A modern packaging material plastic is polluting the planet in a way which is irreversible. This kind of domestic and commercial mode of packagings are spoiling land, water and air. There are some primitive steps to deal with the issue. Both causes and relatable remedies are discussed further.

Focusing on the causes of the plastic use on the environment. First of all, plastic bags and boxes are made for one-time use. This leads to rise in plastic wate on the land resulting in infertile land as it is not getting dissolve even after many decades. For example, many dumping yard's land became unsuitable for agriculture use. Moreover, ubiquitos material found even in oceans resulting in chocking to death when swallowed by aquatic mammals and animals. As a consequence, numerous spicies are going to extint which can disturb the food chain. For instance, certain breed of turtles are reported disappeared because of dumping plastic waste in the water bodies. Lastly, when the plastic waste set on fire, it releases hazardous fumes in the atmosphere. In brief, it is causing enormous damage to the globe and can not be destroy easily.

However, effective solutions are available to curb the situation. First of all, government should impose penalties on littering on public places. It will discourage people spoiling land and water bodies. Forthermore, authorities should promote recycling of plastic waste to avoid extending dump yard's borders that accommodate the pulluting material can not get rid of. As a result, they could save land from being unfertile. Last but not least, citizens should voluntarily boycott plastic usage and choose bio-degradable bags such as cotton bags.

In conclusion, although plastic waste is a new environmental challenge ruining ecology and food chain, there some collective measure should be taken both by authorities and people to combat the issue. The collective approach can reverse the situation to a large extent.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, identifying environmental damage (land infertility, harm to marine life, air pollution) and proposing solutions (penalties, recycling, individual action). The ideas are relevant and generally well-developed. However, the development is occasionally hindered by imprecise phrasing, such as 'primitive steps' when 'proactive measures' was likely intended. The position is clear throughout, and the response maintains a consistent focus on the topic. To reach a higher band, ensure that the link between the causes and the specific environmental impacts is explained with more academic precision rather than relying on general statements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. Cohesive devices are used throughout, such as 'First of all', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are instances where the flow is interrupted by awkward phrasing, such as 'the pulluting material can not get rid of'. Referencing is generally clear, though the connection between sentences could be smoother in the second paragraph. Overall, the progression of ideas is logical and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, including terms like 'hazardous fumes', 'bio-degradable', and 'aquatic mammals'. However, there are several noticeable errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'wate' (waste), 'ubiquitos' (ubiquitous), 'chocking' (choking), 'spicies' (species), and 'extint' (extinct). These errors are frequent enough to be distracting, although they do not prevent the reader from understanding the intended meaning. To improve, the student should focus on accurate spelling and more precise collocations, such as 'dumping grounds' instead of 'dumping yard's land'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the student attempts complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the' missing before 'government'), subject-verb agreement, and verb forms (e.g., 'can not be destroy' instead of 'cannot be destroyed'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are errors with possessive apostrophes, such as 'yard's' used incorrectly in plural contexts. Despite these errors, the meaning is usually clear, and the grammar does not significantly impede communication.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.