Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-05

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)

These days, the usage of plastic has grown significantly. And things that are made of plastic like bags and bottles are really dangerous for the environment. I will discuss both the causes and solution of this in forthcoming paragraphs.

To begin with, plastic is one of the major causes for the damage that is happening to environment today. As plastic is non-biodegradable, whenever someone throws a plastic bottle in a river, it stays there for years and keep affecting the quality of the water. Moreover, when a person tries to burry the plastic to get rid of it, instead of composing itself by bacteria or fungus, it stays there forever and damage the soil quality, which eventually affects the quality of the vegetables or foods grown there. Lastly, according to the scientists, whenever we eat or drink something which is covered in a plastic, it affects our health badly.

However, there are many things that government and people can do together to solve this problem. Firstly, government should ban the usage of plastic in food industry and provide alternatives like paper or wood. For example, instead of allowing to use the plastic spoon or fork, government should suggest to use wooden cutleries. Furthermore, people should stop producing new plastic and try to reuse it as much as possible by recycling it. Nowadays, many company has tries this new strategy, where they give individuals a discount if they return they plastic bottles or bags to recycle it and people are supporting this too.

In conclusion, as plastic is non-biodegradable substance, it does not only damages the water and the soil but a person's health too. But by recycling plastic or replacing it with a paper or a wooden, we can solve this problem.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, identifying environmental damage and proposing solutions for governments and individuals. The ideas are relevant, such as the impact of non-biodegradable plastic on water and soil, and the suggestion of wooden alternatives. However, the development is somewhat basic. For instance, the point about health impacts is mentioned but not fully explained or supported with specific evidence. The position is clear throughout, but the depth of analysis could be improved to reach a higher band by providing more detailed examples or consequences. Overall, the response is sufficient for the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Moreover', 'Firstly', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, the use of these devices is occasionally mechanical or slightly repetitive. Referencing is generally clear, though some transitions between sentences feel abrupt. Paragraphing is used appropriately, and there is a clear progression of ideas from the problem to the proposed solutions. The structure is functional and supports the overall message effectively.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to express ideas clearly. There are some attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'non-biodegradable', 'composing', and 'cutleries'. However, there are instances of word-choice errors, such as 'burry' (bury), 'composing' (decomposing), and 'wooden' (wood). The range is sufficient to convey meaning, but it lacks the flexibility and precision required for higher bands. The student relies on fairly common language, and some collocations are slightly unnatural, though these do not impede communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('many company has tries', 'it stays there... and damage the soil') and article misuse. Punctuation is generally functional, but there are minor errors throughout. Complex structures are attempted, but they often contain errors that slightly distract the reader. The frequency of these errors suggests that the student has not yet mastered complex sentence construction, placing this in the 6.0 range.

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