Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-20

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)

Plastic is very harmful for environement. People use too much plastic in the form of bags,bottles and packages which can affect environment as well as individuals health. This essay will elaborate on what type of damag plastic can cause and also suggest some remedies that government and citizens should follow to prevent plastic pollution in the following paragraphs.

To start with, one of the most significant issue arise from the plastic is land pollution. Many people have negative habit of throwing empty plastic bottles and food packages on the land as a result plastic stays long time in soil and damage the quality of soil in the particular area. For example, palstic bottle stays long on the soil and turn into microplastic which reduce good qualities of soil and make land unproductive. Second is water pollution, Many times we see plastics flotting in the water for the long time as plastic can not desolve in the water. Marine animals consume them as a food and end up their life. Many marine animals getitng lost with the time due to plastic pollution.

To solve this crucial problem, government and citizens have to work as a team because it is not possible with only single person effort. Government should bann plastic manufacture and replace it with recycle plastic factories. If providers stop making the plastic then people will start using alternative options like, reuseble bags. Furthermore, Indivuduals can take initiatives to follow the rules for the better and clean world. For example, on the public places if notice board says strictly to not throw any rubbish on the floor then people have to co-ordinate with the team.

To sum up, although plastic is very harmful for environment, it is not very hard to prevent pollution with the help of government and public. Many damages like marine life damage and land pollution are very serious problems. People should stictly follow the rules and try to save environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the environmental damage caused by plastic and offering solutions from governments and individuals. The position is clear throughout the essay. The ideas are relevant, such as land pollution from plastic bottles turning into microplastics and water pollution affecting marine life, and the solutions include banning plastic manufacture and encouraging reusable alternatives. However, some ideas lack full extension and depth; for example, the explanation of individual solutions is somewhat vague and underdeveloped ("co-ordinate with the team"). Overall, the response covers the task well, earning a Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is divided into an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion, showing a clear overall logical arrangement. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. Cohesive devices are employed to guide the reader, such as "To start with" and "To sum up". However, there are instances where referencing and cohesion are slightly faulty or mechanical, such as "Second is water pollution" rather than a more integrated transition. Logical progression is generally maintained, but occasional awkward phrasing affects the smoothness of transitions between sentences, placing it firmly at a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as "microplastic", "unproductive", and "alternative options". However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, including "environement" instead of environment, "damag" instead of damage, "flotting" instead of floating, "desolve" instead of dissolve, and "reuseble" instead of reusable. While these errors do not severely impede communication, they restrict the lexical score to a Band 5.5, as accuracy in spelling and collocation requires more control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, such as "Many people have negative habit of throwing empty plastic bottles... as a result plastic stays long time in soil..." There are frequent grammatical errors, particularly missing articles ("throw empty plastic bottles on the land", "with only single person effort"), punctuation issues, and minor subject-verb agreement slips ("issue arise", "marine animals getitng lost"). Complex structures tend to have errors, but simple sentences are generally clear and meaning is rarely impeded. This corresponds to a Band 5.5.

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