Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-19
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)
With the rapid increase in the producation and use of plastic bottles, largely driven by industrialisation, has created several detrimental issues for the environment.This esssay will dicuss the msin causes and suggest some pragmatic measures to tackle this problem.
To begin with, Plastic wastage has become more prominent concern in these days, it can create obstacles for ecological system such as water pollution, harm to wild life, soil pollution, and air pollution. For instance, when plastic wastage released to oceans, rivers and lakes, making water polluted. Moreover, plastic takes hundred of years to decompose and contaminate the soil. Burning plastic releases harmful and toxic chemicals into the atmosphere. In this way, the high consumption has affected the environment in a negative way.
On the other hand, to keep the environment safe and protect, government should implement stricter laws to reduce the plastic waste and impose penalities and heavy fine on those who violate them. If it goes unnoticed by the government, it can have lasting impact on natural world. Individuals can be play an inidispensable role in protecting the surrounding by reducing reliance on platic bags and choosing recyclable products.
To conculde, goverments and individuals can play crucial role in saving the envrionment by taking some steps has positively affected the environment.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| 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, identifying environmental damage and suggesting solutions. However, the essay is significantly under the 250-word minimum, which limits the depth of development. Ideas such as 'water pollution' and 'government laws' are mentioned but lack sufficient elaboration or specific examples to fully satisfy the requirements of the task. The conclusion is also underdeveloped and does not effectively summarize the main points. To improve, you must expand on your arguments with more detailed explanations and concrete examples to meet the length requirement and provide a more comprehensive response.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical progression is hindered by the brevity of the content. While some cohesive devices are used, such as 'To begin with' and 'On the other hand', the transitions between sentences are sometimes mechanical or abrupt. The referencing is occasionally unclear, and the overall structure feels rushed. To achieve a higher band, ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and that ideas are linked more fluidly using a wider variety of cohesive devices to guide the reader through your argument.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are several spelling errors, such as 'producation', 'esssay', 'msin', 'platic', and 'conculde', which indicate a lack of attention to detail. The word choice is often repetitive, and there is limited use of less common lexical items. To improve, focus on expanding your vocabulary related to environmental issues and proofread your work carefully to eliminate basic spelling mistakes that detract from the professional quality of your writing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Examples include 'has created' (incorrect subject-verb agreement), 'more prominent concern in these days' (awkward phrasing), and 'Individuals can be play' (incorrect verb form). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with spacing after periods. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to lower the score. Focus on mastering basic subject-verb agreement and refining your use of complex sentence structures to improve accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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