Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-25

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)

Nowadays plastic pollution is one of the most concerning matter for environment and it is increasing in a alarming rate. Government and individuals both are responsible for this and both should come forward to solve this problem. This essay will discuss about the main causes of plastic pollution and recommended some solution.

Plastic damages in several way and create a harmful effect on mankind and wildlife. It also damage ocean waterlife and pollute ocean water. Plastic material such as plastic bag season block the drainage system and it create a horrible situating in rainy season. For example city like Dhaka faces waterlogging in every year and people lead a terrible life on those days. For instance usage of plastic utensils are very bad for peoples health. It cause many chronic diseases such as cancer, kidney failure by spread microplastic in human body.

Government can take several steps to overcome this situation. For example, by making law that plastic use should be banned in any cost. Few days ago Bangladesh government takes this law and it create a huge change . Government can also arrange campaigning that can aware people about the bad impact of plastic use . Educational institutes are also play a role by arranging play, and music to aware peoples. Teachers should teach children how to reduce plastic use. people can use jute bag for shopping. If people use jute bag for everyday shopping it reduces a huge amount on plastic bag.

In conclusion, it is difficult to solve this matter overnight but it is not impossible. Everyone's considerable attention can create a huge improvement.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

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 waterlogging in Dhaka and the use of jute bags. However, the development is somewhat uneven; while the environmental impact is touched upon, the explanation of how plastic causes chronic diseases is a bit simplistic. The position is clear throughout, but the essay would benefit from more depth in the analysis of the solutions to reach a higher band. Overall, it covers the requirements sufficiently.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, each with a clear focus. There is a progression of ideas from the problem to the solutions. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'For example', 'For instance', and 'In conclusion', though some transitions feel a bit mechanical. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. While the flow is generally clear, some sentences are slightly disjointed, and the use of referencing could be more sophisticated to improve the overall cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to convey their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'chronic diseases' and 'microplastic', which is positive. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'increasing in a alarming rate' (at an alarming rate) and 'making law' (enacting legislation). Some spelling errors, like 'situating' instead of 'situation', are present. The range is sufficient for communication but lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('Educational institutes are also play a role', 'plastic material... block') and article usage errors ('in every year'). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the message, they are frequent enough to impact the overall accuracy. To improve, the student should focus on verb tense consistency and ensuring that complex sentence structures are constructed with greater precision.

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

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