Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-29

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 6.5)

Plastic products are harmful to the environment. This essay will discuss the damage and solution from the government and individuals.

Firstly, Plastic material causes land and water pollution. Due to it's inability to decompose even when it is left for hundreds of years, It litters the streets, blocks drainage which may cause flood during the raining season. For instance, Many houses in Lagos were destroyed by the flood which was as a result of blockage in the drainage, There was not enough pathway for the water to flow.Again, Those plastics might end up in the oceans causing the water to be polluted. In addition, Plastics are harmful to animals such as fish, turtles and cows because they can mistakenly eat the plastic product and die.

However, Most of these damages can be minimized or eliminated completely if there is a law guiding the use of plastics. The regulatory bodies can provide an alternative products such as paper bags, reuseable bottles, improve the recycling system and educate people on the damage plastic products can cause to the environment. Furthermore, Citizens should also contribute to solving these problems by making use of reuseable bags and avoid plastic packaging. For instance, Market women using basket to sort plastic waste. They should also recycle and sort their waste and also participate in clean-ups.

In conclusion, plastic products can be convinient to use, especially in the household but the damage it causes to the environment outweights the benefits. government and individuals can play a big role in restoring the environment and make it a safe place for both human and animal.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt effectively, discussing both the environmental damage caused by plastics and viable solutions from governments and individuals. The writer presents a clear position throughout the essay. The ideas are relevant and supported with examples, such as the mention of flooding in Lagos and the impact on marine and land animals like fish and cows. Solutions are also logically categorized into governmental actions, such as enacting laws and improving recycling systems, and individual actions, like using reusable bags and participating in clean-ups. While some points could be elaborated further, the overall coverage meets the requirements of Band 6.5 to Band 7 by fully engaging with all aspects of the prompt with clear extensions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into distinct paragraphs, following a traditional introduction, body paragraphs for damage and solutions, and a conclusion. There is a clear overall progression of ideas from identifying the problem to exploring solutions. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Firstly', 'However', 'In addition', and 'In conclusion', though some referencing and transitions are a bit mechanical or lack seamless flow. For instance, the transition into the individual solutions paragraph could be smoother. Paragraphing is used appropriately, and the core message remains coherent throughout, which places the essay securely in the Band 6.0 to 6.5 range.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'decompose', 'drainage', 'regulatory bodies', and 'recycling system'. However, there are some noticeable vocabulary and collocation errors, such as 'an alternative products' (plural/article mismatch), 'Market women using basket' (grammatical agreement and singular/plural issue), and 'outweights' (spelling error for 'outweighs'). Less common lexical items are attempted, but inaccuracies in word choice and spelling prevent the response from achieving a higher band. Overall, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures. However, there are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues throughout the text. Examples include 'Due to it's inability' (incorrect use of the possessive apostrophe instead of the possessive pronoun 'its'), run-on comma splices like '...blockage in the drainage, There was not enough pathway...', and capitalization errors such as starting sentences mid-clause with capital letters ('It litters the streets'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to restrict the score to Band 6.0.

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