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)

In the contemporary era, the environment pollution has become a major issue of the world because of extreme usage of plastic bags, bottles, and their packaging. Plastic takes thousands of years to decompose and becomes a bottleneck for humans and nature. As remedies, the government should take legal measures, and individuals should adopt and promote plastic-free options in society. In this essay, we look at how plastic can damage the world and, to overcome that, what governments' and individuals responsibility to follow, with relevant examples.

To commence, plastic is a non-degradable substance that takes thousands of years to decompose. Moreover, plastic is detrimental to humans and the natural environment of the Earth, such as tons of plastic in the ocean, rivers, and lakes, which have become a danger to marine life and cause water pollution. Burning plastic causes air pollution. In addition, consuming food and drinks in plastic can create health problems for humans. For example, people are drinking beverages in cups and bottles, which can create long-term health issues such as cancer.

Nevertheless, to overcome plastic problems, governments should take legal action by putting restrictions on the manufacturing of plastic and imposing high fines on local shops and retailers for the sale of plastic bags. Furthermore, individuals have to be aware of plastic usage and try to avoid using plastic on day-to-day life. Additionally, spread awareness and educate others people for using the plastic material products. For instance, people should use cloth bags for shopping and use steel bottles and lunch boxes for consuming water and food.

In summary, I restate the statements that plastic is very harmful to the environment, which creates numerous negative effects on nature and creatures of the world. Local bodies can solve this by taking legal action and educating the general society and individuals who take self-responsibility to avoid plastic and run a plastic-free campaign.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, identifying environmental damage and proposing solutions for both governments and individuals. The ideas are relevant and clearly presented. However, the development is somewhat superficial; for instance, the explanation of health risks from plastic is brief and could be further elaborated with more specific evidence or depth. While the position is clear throughout, the essay would benefit from more detailed examples to fully explore the implications of the suggested solutions. Overall, it meets the requirements of the task well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the problem from the solutions. Cohesive devices such as 'To commence', 'Moreover', and 'Nevertheless' are used to guide the reader, though some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The progression of ideas is generally smooth, although the final summary is a bit repetitive in its phrasing. Overall, the structure is coherent and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the message clearly. There is an attempt to use topic-specific terminology like 'non-degradable', 'detrimental', and 'bottleneck'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'environment pollution' (should be 'environmental pollution') and 'educate others people' (should be 'educate other people'). The range is adequate for the task, but more sophisticated or varied vocabulary would be needed to reach 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 always clear, there are recurring grammatical errors, such as missing articles ('the environment pollution') and issues with pluralization ('others people'). Some sentence constructions are slightly awkward, such as 'what governments' and individuals responsibility to follow'. Despite these errors, the grammar does not impede communication. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles.

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.