Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-29

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)

Here I would say that using a plastic bottles is very dangerous to environment because it can not be recycle and harmful for enviroment . The essay will discuss more details about regarding topics,

FIRSTLY, I would say that people were very fond of using plastic bags such as bags, bottles , food container and many more. I would say that using a plastic bags and packaging would be more harmful to environment as shown in latest report . For example , people were cutting a tress and even it is very dangerous for environment moroever, people were throwing in seas, oceans and due to that aquatic aniamls might get death and sometimes at road plastic bags is also eaten by dogs, cats, cow which may be life threathnng.

on other hand it also seen that in report that , plastic bags and container might affect the health and cause cancer for example , tjhe people who were using paper bags and wrapping the food and even had plastic food container that might develop a dangerous health issue and the ratio of death has increased .

Furthermore, I would say that , the goverment and citizen has to take a strict action and even ban to use plastic . on starting phase it might difficult but later on alternatives are found such as people are making jute bags , cotton bags, paper bags that are recycled and even make a hard paper container which were very good and doesnot harm the environment and even they do caimpaining to use a recycle and renuable substances that helps to save environment and make our country healthy anad eco-friendly .

In conclusion, i would say that using non-renuable substances might get dangerous for health and health so I would advice to use alternative eco-friendly substances .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the environmental damage caused by plastic and potential solutions. However, the development of ideas is limited. The discussion on environmental damage is somewhat repetitive and relies on generalizations, such as the claim that plastic causes cancer, which lacks scientific nuance. The solutions provided are relevant but remain at a surface level. To improve, you should provide more specific examples or logical explanations for your claims. For instance, instead of stating that plastic causes death, explain the process of microplastic ingestion or the physical obstruction of marine life. The position is clear, but the overall depth of the argument needs to be increased to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or misused. For example, the transition 'on other hand it also seen that in report that' is grammatically awkward and lacks proper linking. Furthermore, the referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the vague mention of a 'latest report' without context. While there is a logical progression from the problem to the solution, the flow between sentences is frequently interrupted by grammatical errors and repetitive phrasing. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring they are used naturally would significantly enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. You rely on basic terms like 'dangerous', 'harmful', and 'bad' repeatedly. There are also issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'might get death' instead of 'might die' or 'life threathnng' (spelling error). You attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'aquatic animals', 'eco-friendly', and 'renewable', which is positive. To improve, focus on using more sophisticated synonyms and ensuring that words are used in their correct grammatical context. Avoid repetitive phrasing and work on expanding your range of descriptive adjectives and nouns.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in grammar, punctuation, and syntax that occasionally impede readability. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('the goverment and citizen has'), incorrect article usage ('a plastic bottles'), and tense inconsistencies. Punctuation is also problematic, with unnecessary spaces before commas and inconsistent capitalization. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors prevents the text from reaching a higher band. Focusing on basic sentence construction, subject-verb agreement, and proofreading for minor slips would help improve your accuracy significantly.

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

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