Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-23

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)

All over the world, the consumption of everything made from plastic has increased drastically in the past decade. Including plastic bags, bottles and packaging. Initially people adapted to the usage of plastic as it was the most convenient option over using any other environmental conservational material. This is because plastic is more sturdy so it rips less and due to its properties it gives high elasticity so often people can carry heavy or hot items into it as well.

However, convenience isn't the only thing that can be weighed here. As plastic is a material that is highly non-biodegradable so it cannot decompose on its own. Non-biodegradable things are often considered an enemy for the environment as their nature doesn't favor the environment to stay habitable for every kind of species. According to various articles and environmentalists research, it is concluded a lot of times that the need to search for a more environment friendly alternative is quite significant.

Moreover, governments and individuals also needs to play quite an important role in this fight against plastic consumption. Further production of plastic production needs to be minimized for the items that already has its alternative to plastic. Meanwhile, for those commodity who doesn't have any environmental friendly alternative, for those immediate research needs to be initialized before bringing plastic production of those things to a halt. Government can help making some standardized and strict rules for factories, supermarkets, shops as well as individuals relating to usage of plastic. Individuals can also help with this by spreading awareness against plastic in their society.

As far as my view is considered, I am against consumption of plastic since I was in school 4-5 years ago. I use to make projects and give awareness speeches in school auditorium when there was any awareness program in school. This all started 6 years ago, when i was coming home from school and I saw a stray dog eating through the waste beside a garbage bin and eating plastic alongside waste food, i stopped the dog from doing it. That is the day i got more and more concerned about the usage of plastic and started researching about this plastic problem online.

In the conclusion, I would like to get everyone's attention to the severity of this aspect and would like for governments, environmentalists, researches and individuals to take an initiative against plastic commodities by looking for the best possible alternative for environmental preservation.

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 position is clear throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. While the environmental impact is discussed, the explanation of 'non-biodegradable' nature could be more detailed. The solutions provided are relevant but remain somewhat general, such as 'spreading awareness' or 'making rules'. To reach a higher band, the student should provide more specific examples of government policies (e.g., plastic taxes or bans) and more concrete individual actions beyond school speeches to demonstrate a deeper engagement with the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different themes. Cohesive devices are present, such as 'However', 'Moreover', and 'In the conclusion', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, and there are instances where referencing is slightly unclear, such as in the third paragraph where the phrase 'for those commodity who doesn't have' lacks a clear antecedent. Overall, the progression of ideas is logical, but the flow could be improved with more sophisticated linking phrases to connect sentences more naturally.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the student to express their ideas clearly. There is an attempt to use less common vocabulary, such as 'non-biodegradable', 'environmental conservational material', and 'commodities'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'environmental conservational material' (which is awkward) and 'initialized' (where 'initiated' would be more appropriate). Additionally, the phrase 'for those commodity who doesn't have' contains grammatical and lexical errors. The range is sufficient to convey meaning, but more precise and natural collocations are needed for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('governments and individuals also needs', 'items that already has'), incorrect pluralization ('for those commodity'), and awkward phrasing ('As far as my view is considered'). Punctuation is generally functional, but some sentence boundaries are slightly blurred. To improve, the student should focus on subject-verb agreement and ensuring that complex sentences are constructed with greater accuracy, as these errors currently prevent the writing from reaching a higher band.

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