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)

It is argued that plastics are harmful for the environment. In upcoming paragraphs I will put light on this matter and explain solutions.

First and foremost, plastic can harm the soil. To elaborate, people nowadays throw bottles and plastic waste anywhere this can cause the less fertile soil and that can harm the crops. For example, according to the data we can simply say that the produce of wheat and other crops are decreasing which is the side effect of this kind of waste. Moreover, because this waste cannot composite easily to the soil and that disturb the animals. To exemplify, some birds or any animals can be wrapped in plastic bags and stuck there or stuck their head into the plastic bottles.

However, this problem can be solved by society. Firstly, there are some NGO and social activity team which solve this kind of matters and individuals can join this kind of groups to expand their human power.

Nowadays, volunteer workers go to this kind of area where they can see much more plastic waste and they clean the area to minimize the pollution. Moreover, companies can switch to paper bags and packaging to avoid plastics. With this move, there is not much plastic in the market so people will buy things in paper bags and if they throw anywhere that can be compossible to soil.

To conclude, plastic have some serious impact on soil and animals. However, that can be solved by avoiding plastic packaging by companies to use or individual people to join NGO to do volunteer work.

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 is somewhat superficial. For instance, the discussion on soil fertility lacks depth, and the solutions provided—such as 'NGO and social activity team'—are quite general. While the ideas are relevant, they are not fully extended or supported with specific, convincing evidence. The position is clear, but the overall response would benefit from more detailed explanations and a more formal tone to better meet the requirements for a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. There is a basic progression of ideas from the problem to the solutions. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'To elaborate' and 'To exemplify'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, for example, in the phrase 'that disturb the animals', where the antecedent is not precisely linked. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the transitions between sentences could be smoother to improve the overall flow of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward word choices or non-standard collocations, such as 'put light on this matter' (instead of 'shed light on'), 'composite easily' (instead of 'decompose'), and 'compossible' (which is not the correct term). While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of variety and the presence of these errors limit the score. Using more precise terminology related to environmental science would significantly enhance the quality of the writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the reader. Examples include 'plastic have some serious impact' (subject-verb agreement), 'this can cause the less fertile soil' (article usage), and 'stuck their head' (tense/structure). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are issues with sentence boundaries and clarity. While the writer attempts complex structures, the control over them is inconsistent, leading to errors that occur throughout the text.

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.