Band 8.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 8.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-17

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 8.0)

Plastic is widely used for bags, bottles and packaging despite being considered harmful to the environment. It degrades at a very slow rate, thereby increasing landfill waste and damaging the ecosystem by entering the food chain. These issues can be efficiently mitigated by enforcing strict laws, increasing awareness and making deliberate community efforts to limit its use.

Plastic use has detrimental effects on the environment and fragile ecosystems. Since it can take hundreds of years to degrade in landfills, it increases the demand for land being used for plastic waste disposal. Moreover, plastic in the land and ocean can form microplastic residues, and when ingested by marine animals, they can enter the food chain and may cause harm to marine creatures. For instance, careless plastic use in India has significantly deteriorated marine life in coastal regions. Therefore, plastic use today will continue to harm the environment for many more years to come.

Both governments and individuals should work in collaboration to protect the environment from the adverse effects of plastic. The authorities should introduce strict laws on plastic use and impose heavy penalties on those who violate such laws, along with raising awareness on its negative effects. This might motivate businesses to stop using plastic completely. For example, the Indian government has banned the use of plastic bags in Himachal Pradesh to protect the fragile ecosystem of the Himalayas. Furthermore, individuals should also adopt eco-friendly alternatives such as reusable water bottles to reduce plastic consumption. These smaller conscious efforts at a community level usually have a larger impact when adopted globally.

In conclusion, careless plastic consumption has created a formidable situation. While it can generate substantial non-biodegradable waste, enter the food chain and harm the wildlife, its harmful effects can be addressed efficiently if governments enforce strict laws and individuals adopt sustainable alternatives.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The student fully addresses all parts of the task. Both direct questions are answered clearly: the damage caused by plastic to the environment is discussed in terms of slow degradation, landfill usage, and microplastics entering the food chain, while solutions involving governments and individuals are thoroughly explored with appropriate examples such as the ban in Himachal Pradesh. The position is clear throughout the essay, and ideas are well-developed with relevant supporting details. This corresponds closely to the Band 8 descriptor, as all aspects of the prompt are covered thoroughly and logically supported.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0

Ideas are logically sequenced and the progression is smooth from the introduction to the body paragraphs and conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with each body paragraph focusing on a distinct aspect of the prompt (environmental damage followed by solutions). Cohesive devices are managed well without feeling mechanical, using transitions such as 'Moreover', 'For instance', and 'Furthermore' to guide the reader seamlessly through the argument. Referencing is clear throughout, meeting the criteria for a strong Band 8 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.5

The student demonstrates a wide and flexible lexical range suitable for discussing environmental issues. Vocabulary items such as 'detrimental effects', 'fragile ecosystems', 'non-biodegradable waste', and 'sustainable alternatives' show a high level of precision and stylistic awareness. There are only occasional minor inaccuracies, such as the collocation 'formidable situation' in the conclusion, which is slightly unnatural compared to 'formidable challenge'. Overall, the vocabulary deployed easily supports fluent communication and reflects Band 7 to Band 8 qualities.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 8.0

The essay displays a wide range of complex structures used with a high degree of accuracy. The majority of sentences are error-free, featuring well-controlled conditional and participial constructions such as 'Since it can take hundreds of years to degrade in landfills, it increases...' and 'when ingested by marine animals, they can enter...'. Punctuation is accurate, and grammatical control is consistently strong throughout the piece, demonstrating the characteristics of a Band 8 performance.

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

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