Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-23

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 today's globalizes world where technology enhancing day by day people prefer to buy more item due to aggresive buying items this can lead towards pollution because today every manufacturer want to attract more customer for their product by making attractive pakaging on items and they mostly use single plastic because of easily availability,and cheap option.due to excessive use of plastic bags ,plastic bottle and plastic packagiong lead toward pollution.plastic waste become one of the most serious environment problems in the world.Item such as platic bags,bottles,and packging are used every day,but many of them are discarded after single use.This essay will discuss the damage caused by plastic pollution and suggest measures that government and individuals can take to adress this issue.

Plastic causes significant harm to the environment because it takes hundred of year to decompose.As a result,large amounts of plastic accumulate in landfills,rivers,and oceans.Marrine animal often mistake plastic for food,which can lead to injury or death.in additon,burning plastic releases harmfull gases into the atmoshphere,contributing to air pollution and posing risks to human health.platic waste also blocks drainage systems,increasing the likelihood of flooding in urban area.

Government can play important role in reducing plastic pollution by introdusing strict laws and promoting sustainable alternatives.for example,they can ban single-use plastic bags,impose taxes on platic products,and encourage companies to use biodegradable or recyclable paking.government should also invest in research and development for alternative product of plastic which is recyclable.for example Government of india make initiatve that every citizen should buy reusable pakiging products like paper bag,reusable fabric bags,steel container for liquid make the law which every person to follow and also ban the production of single use platic.by doing such strict activity india became less polluted compare to past.Individual also have a responsibility to protect the environment by simply using reusable ,recyclable item for their daily activity.also they have to segregate the waste like green waste seperate for de-comose.These simple actions,when adopt by many people,can make significant change.

In conclusion,plstic polluton causes serious damage to wildlife,ecosystem,and human health.although governments must introduce effective policies and improve recycling system,individuals should also reduce their plastic consumption and adopt environmentally friendly habits.Working together is the most effective way to solve this growing problem.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by identifying the environmental damage caused by plastic and suggesting viable solutions for both governments and individuals. The introduction clearly outlines the scope of the essay. In the body paragraphs, the student explains how plastic harms wildlife and the atmosphere, and then provides concrete measures such as banning single-use items and promoting recycling. The example regarding India adds specific, relevant context. Although some ideas could be slightly more fully extended and developed to reach the highest bands, all requirements of the prompt are adequately covered. The position is clear throughout, and the main points are well-supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay is logically organised into four distinct paragraphs, following a standard introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Overall progression is clear, and the student makes an effort to use cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'For example', and 'In conclusion'. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty, and paragraphing could be tighter. For instance, the first paragraph suffers from run-on sentences and lacks adequate punctuation, which affects the flow of ideas. Referencing is generally clear, but the lack of proper capitalization and punctuation throughout the text places a heavy burden on the reader, pulling the overall coherence score down.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-related terms such as 'biodegradable', 'recyclable', 'decompose', and 'landfills'. However, there are frequent spelling errors ('globalizes', 'aggresive', 'pakaging', 'harmfull', 'atmoshphere', 'introdusing', 'de-comose') and incorrect word forms ('easily availability', 'alternative product'). These lexical errors and spelling mistakes occasionally impede communication and restrict the score. While the student attempts less common vocabulary, the control over word choice, collocation, and spelling is inconsistent, fitting comfortably within the Band 5.5 to 6.0 range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures. However, grammatical accuracy is weak. There are persistent punctuation and capitalization issues throughout the entire text—most sentences begin with lowercase letters, and run-on sentences are common due to comma splices (e.g., '...plastic packaging lead toward pollution.plastic waste become...'). Additionally, there are errors in subject-verb agreement and article usage ('Government of india make initiatve', 'Individual also have'). Because errors in grammar and punctuation are frequent and disrupt the readability of the text, the performance aligns with Band 5.0.

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