Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-22

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)

Undoubtedly, handling a plastic material has been become a difficult task for authorities all over the world. It is argued that for packaging, bags and bottles that are made from plastic put harmful impact on environment. This problem has numerous reasons, as this material is hard to recycle, emits pollution while burning and has long degradation time. Since this obstacle has several causes, this essay will explain its suitable solution to control it.

To begin with damage, the major damage for environment is this type of material takes hundreds or thousands of year to degrade naturally. Neither is it safe to burning manually as it produces dangerous gases, nor burying underground this way it decreases soil fertility. Additionally, it can stay as it in sea for long period of time, then put various sea species on threat. For instance, A blog written by Mr. Richard Brown the reporter from CNN in 2019, highlighted the fact that nearly 40% sea turtle die every year as they stuck in plastic made bottles. He further emphasized that owing to this many sea turtle species are on the verge of extinction.

Although, through many ways it has dangerous effects to sea life and human life, but with suitable techniques this hurdle can be solved. Primarily, individuals should reuse plastic made things as much as possible and think twice before throwing it, because it does not have any environment friendly recycle method. Secondly, government should put strict ban on plastic bags and allow only paper or cloth made bag or other material which are eco-friendly. For example, in 2021 Australia banned plastic bags on public placed like supermarkets, beaches and so on and it showed positive sign. The whales which were under a threat before 2021, now good in numbers in this regions.

To sum up, it is concluded that the damage plastic do to the environment are serious as it impact sea life, soil and air negatively, however with reusing it more and banning on busy places this problem can be solved.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, identifying environmental damage and suggesting solutions for both governments and individuals. The ideas are relevant, such as the mention of soil fertility and sea life. However, the development is somewhat uneven. The example regarding the 40% sea turtle mortality rate is specific but lacks a clear connection to the broader environmental context, and the claim about whale populations recovering in Australia since 2021 is a generalization that lacks nuance. To reach a higher band, ensure that arguments are supported by more logical, realistic explanations rather than potentially hyperbolic statistics. The position is clear throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To begin with', 'Additionally', and 'To sum up', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'Neither is it safe to burning manually as it produces dangerous gases, nor burying underground this way it decreases soil fertility'. The referencing is generally clear, though the flow between sentences could be smoother. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the progression of ideas is logical, moving from the problem to the solutions.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to convey their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'degradation', 'extinction', and 'eco-friendly'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'handling a plastic material', 'put harmful impact', 'stay as it in sea', and 'banning on busy places'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the precision of the writing. A wider range of more sophisticated vocabulary would be required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'has been become', 'takes hundreds or thousands of year', 'stuck in plastic made bottles', and 'the damage plastic do'. These errors are noticeable and occur in both simple and complex structures. While the errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the message, they indicate a lack of control over more complex grammatical forms, which is a characteristic of the Band 6 level.

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

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