Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

It is true that all things that made from plastic is not good for the environment because it cause not only to the environment but also to the animals who eat them during they are searching for their food. I would explain the reasons and solutions for this situation in the upcoming paragraphs.

To commence with, one of the main environmental problems caused by plastic is pollution. Plastic take very long time to break down. As a result, a big amount of plastic waste stays in oceans,rivers and landfills. This can aslo harm wildlife because animals eat plastic and gets injured.

Both government as well as local individuals should play a role to tackle this issue to save wildlife and reduce pollution. For example, government can introduce strict rules on single use plastic products and encourage businesses to use environmentally friendly alternatives.this can be reduced by using reuseable bags and bottles.

Individuals can also make habit to use reusable bags, bottles and food containers. People also should seperate waste properly and avoid buying products with unnecessary plastic packaging.

In conclusion, plastic pollution damage ecosystem and harm wildlife but government can help to reduce this issue by implementing strict rules and people can reduce this problem by increasing the use of recycling produts.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by identifying the environmental damage caused by plastic, such as pollution and wildlife harm, and suggests solutions for both governments and individuals. However, the ideas are relatively basic and lack sufficient extension and examples. Furthermore, the length requirement is not met; the response contains only 212 words, which falls short of the mandatory 250-word minimum. This under-length impacts the overall development and depth of the task response. While the position is clear throughout, the limited elaboration and failure to reach the required word count restrict the score to Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organized into distinct paragraphs, with a basic introduction, body paragraphs addressing the prompt, and a conclusion. However, the overall progression is somewhat mechanical and repetitive. Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes inaccurately or awkwardly, such as 'To commence with' and the sudden shift in paragraph 3 where 'this can be reduced by using reuseable bags and bottles' appears abruptly within a sentence discussing government action. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and paragraphing could be managed more effectively to ensure a smoother flow of ideas. These features align with the Band 5 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, but it is limited and repetitive (e.g., repeating 'plastic', 'environment', and 'wildlife'). There are noticeable word-form and spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'all things that made' instead of 'made', 'take' instead of 'takes', 'reuseable' instead of 'reusable', and 'seperate' instead of 'separate'. Although communication is not seriously impeded, the restricted range and frequent lexical errors keep the vocabulary performance at a Band 5 level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control is inconsistent. There are numerous grammatical errors across the text, such as 'all things that made from plastic is not good' (agreement and passive voice errors), 'it cause not only to the environment' (incorrect verb form and preposition), 'Plastic take very long time' (missing article), and 'animals eat plastic and gets injured' (subject-verb agreement). Punctuation and capitalization errors are also present, such as lowercase letters at the start of sentences like 'this can be reduced'. These frequent errors place the grammatical performance firmly in Band 5.

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