Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-21

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)

Different types of products made of plastic are harming the nature. Non degradable materials are effecting the quality of land in addition to that dumped plastic components in the ocean are harming the ocean animal life. The government should bring strict laws in the usage of plastic and people need to be responsible with the products while disposing.

Plastic became widely used material for different purposes around the world. General properties of plastic is, when it is mixed with soil, it will takes years to completely dissolve in the soil. This characteristics of plastic makes the soil contaminated and diminishes the quality of soil. In addition to that, most of the plastic is dumped into the ocean bodies to make the disposal easy. All those plastic breaking to small plastic particles and getting mixed with ocean water. The fishes and different living things in the ocean are consuming these micro plastics, which is effecting their health and eventually causing death. For instances, One type of sea turtles living in the coast of South Asia became extinct due to the consumption of micro plastics.

Governments around the world plays a major role in controlling the usage of plastic materials. They need to make strict laws in the usage of plastics and promote the usage of recycled plastic. More over it is every individuals responsibility to protect the nature. They need limit the usage of plastic and need to have control while disposing them after using. For instance, Last decade's statistics in Japan revealed that Japan's citizen utilized most amount of recycled plastic compared to all countries in the world after the implementation of laws over plastic usage by Japan government.

In Conclusion, Plastic components that are harming the atmosphere can be controlled by the laws enforced by the governments and ownership of every individual using the plastic.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the environmental damage caused by plastic and the roles of governments and individuals. The ideas are relevant, such as soil contamination and microplastics in the ocean. However, the development is somewhat limited. For instance, the example regarding sea turtles in South Asia lacks specific detail, and the discussion on government and individual actions could be more deeply explored to reach a higher band. The position is clear throughout, but the overall depth of analysis is consistent with a band 6, as some points are mentioned rather than fully extended.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. There is a progression of ideas from the problem to the solutions. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'In addition to that', 'For instance', and 'In conclusion'. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, and there are minor issues with referencing (e.g., 'This characteristics'). While the structure is coherent, the flow between sentences could be smoother to achieve a higher score. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, body, and conclusion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task. You use some topic-specific terms like 'non-degradable', 'contaminated', and 'micro plastics'. However, there are several instances of word-choice errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'harming the nature' (should be 'harming nature') and 'effecting the quality' (should be 'affecting'). The range is sufficient to convey your meaning, but the lack of more sophisticated or precise vocabulary prevents a higher score. Spelling is generally accurate, but the repetition of basic structures limits the lexical variety.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('Governments... plays', 'it will takes') and article usage ('the usage of plastic'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are errors in capitalization and spacing (e.g., 'More over'). These errors are noticeable but do not impede the overall communication of your ideas. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic agreement and verb tense consistency.

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