Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-27

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)

In this world, plastic is the part of almost everything we use. Plastic containers, bags and packaging are not good for the ecosystem. This essay will discuss the causes along with the solution of this notion in the forthcoming paragraphs.

To commence with the causes, the predominant is soil and water pollution. To explicate this, plastic is the main cause why the soil is getting polluted. Many industries, factories throw a lot of their waste plastic in the digs under soil. Most of the individuals throw plastic trash in rivers, lakes which pollutes water. For instance, BBC news had found that a lot of animals in water and on ground are suffering from these pollutions which are leading to their deaths. Hence, the government should stop letting big or even industries or factories to throw their plastic trash in water or under soil, and they must start a rule to charge fines for doing so.

Shifting towards the other cause, it is the disease people are having from plastic wastage . To explain this, a number of people these days are suffering from diverse kind of diseases because of the harmful smokes from burning these plastic bags, containers. These cause respiratory problems such as asthma, and many more. For example, Khalsa university had witnessed that the main reason of these breathing problems and diseases in Delhi were the plastic pollution. Hence, individuals must stop burning these plastic products and start recycling and then reusing them.

In conclusion, although plastic cause environmental damages to soil , water , air and cause numerous disease, yet it can be solved by authorities by charging penalty and reducing the usage of these items.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, identifying environmental damage and suggesting solutions for both governments and individuals. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation of how plastic causes soil pollution is quite brief, and the solutions provided are somewhat generic. The essay would benefit from more detailed examples or a deeper exploration of the mechanisms involved. While the position is clear, the depth of analysis remains at a basic level, which prevents it from reaching a higher band. The structure is logical, but the content could be expanded to provide a more comprehensive answer.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To commence with', 'Shifting towards', and 'In conclusion', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally slightly unclear, such as in the phrase 'solution of this notion', which is not the most natural way to refer back to the topic. Overall, the progression of ideas is coherent, but the use of cohesive devices could be more varied and sophisticated.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey their meaning clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'predominant', 'explicate', and 'witnessed'. However, there are also some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'digs under soil' instead of 'landfills' or 'underground', and 'diverse kind of diseases' instead of 'various types of diseases'. The range is sufficient to discuss the topic, but it lacks the precision and flexibility required for a higher band score. Improving collocations would significantly enhance the quality of the writing.

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, particularly with articles ('the main reason of these breathing problems'), prepositions ('in the digs under soil'), and pluralization ('plastic cause environmental damages'). Some sentences are slightly awkward, such as 'the government should stop letting big or even industries or factories to throw their plastic trash'. These errors do not impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. A greater focus on sentence-level accuracy and proofreading would be beneficial.

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