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)

In the current era, the use of plastic has become common, ranging from household appliances to industrial things. It can be find everywhere to the streets and locations where people rarely visited. In this essay, I will expand upon the impacts causes by the use of plastic and role as individuals and government can take to mitigate with this problem.

To begin with, plastic can cause serious damages to the environment. Firstly, plastic is a material which can extremely difficult to decompose. There are many studies which shows the plastic can takes more than 1000 years to break down into the soil. Furthermore, it can effects the both land and marine life. To elaborate more, various animals are dies due to environmental pollution caused by the plastic wastage. sometime marine animals eat plastic mistaking it is food, it leads to the death. it highly risky that marine creatures like fish ingest plastic waste will carry disease to human.

On the other side there are many ways to for us as individual to reduce the plastic waste. This can be achieved by carrying cloth bags, use personal bottles and food containers, choosing products without plastic packaging and purchasing refillable products. Apart from this, government plays an important role. they should limit the consumption of plastic bags and other plastic things. They should invest into the new techniques for recycling and use eco- friendly product. Furthermore. they must provide education regarding the environmental dangers of plastic waste.

In conclus

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the environmental damage caused by plastic and the roles of governments and individuals. However, the essay is incomplete, ending abruptly at 'In conclus'. This failure to provide a conclusion significantly impacts the development of the response. Additionally, the word count is below the 250-word minimum, which is a negative factor. While the ideas presented are relevant, they are somewhat under-developed due to the lack of a concluding summary and the brevity of the arguments. To improve, ensure you complete the essay structure and provide more depth to your examples.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of ideas. However, the abrupt ending disrupts the overall coherence. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'On the other side', but some transitions are mechanical or slightly misused (e.g., 'Apart from this, government plays an important role'). Referencing is generally clear, but the lack of a final paragraph means the logical flow is not fully realised. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring a complete structure would enhance the score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks sophistication. You use basic terms like 'things', 'bad', and 'important', which limit the range. There are also some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'industrial things' instead of 'industrial products' and 'mitigate with this problem' instead of 'mitigate this problem'. While the meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is not broad enough to demonstrate flexibility or precision. Using more academic collocations and precise terminology would help elevate your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

There is a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but the accuracy is inconsistent. Frequent errors include subject-verb agreement ('studies which shows', 'plastic can takes'), incorrect verb forms ('animals are dies'), and missing articles. Punctuation is also problematic, particularly the sentence fragment 'Furthermore. they must provide education'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to distract the reader. To improve, focus on basic grammatical accuracy, particularly verb tense consistency and subject-verb agreement, before attempting more complex structures.

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

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