Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-30

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)

It is considered that plastic pollution are widely spreading and this is very dangerous for environment. There are certain reasons behind this statement some steps that can taken to solve this problem that will be discussed in the upcoming paragraphs.

Commencing with the main reason which justify that why plastic damaging the environment. The most prominenet one is that plastic making environment worst because nowadays people on daily basic purchasing the things from market all are mostly plastic things example food,drinks and carry bags also are made of plastic and after use the things people throw that plastic mostly on streets and roads and this is how plastic pollution are growing and it is very dangerous for environment. Apart from this, the street dogs when find those plastic things they want to eat them and that thing very harmful for them also, that is how infections come.

However, government should do many things to do solve this problem like those people who throwing plastic at anywhere on road or streets government should make new rules for this, government should provide dustbins on every road and street. Last but not least government should also make some strict rules like if someone not following the rules related to environment then they put a fine on those who did not follow the rules so they should aware for next time when they throw something that make environment worse.

In conclusion, although plastic pollution presents serious environmental challenges it can be effectively tackled through targeted measures such as strict government rules on plastic use and increased public awareness and responsible individual behavior, which are likely to bring about improvements in environment for the long term.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing the damage caused by plastic and suggesting solutions for both governments and individuals. The writer presents a clear position and supports it with relevant ideas, such as street dogs eating plastic and governments implementing fines and dustbins. However, some ideas are somewhat basic and repetitive, leaning towards generalisation without deep extension. For example, the explanation of how plastic damages the environment relies on simple examples like food and drink packaging. Overall, the task is adequately addressed, aligning with the criteria for Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is arranged coherently with a clear overall progression, moving from an introduction to body paragraphs discussing environmental damage and government solutions, followed by a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different main ideas. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical, with awkward transitions like 'Commencing with the main reason which justify that why plastic damaging the environment.' Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as pronoun usage referring back to previous clauses. Cohesive devices are present but can be clumsy or overused, placing this essay firmly in the Band 5.5 to 6.0 range.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'prominent', 'environmental challenges', and 'responsible individual behavior'. However, there are notable limitations and word-choice errors that affect precision, such as 'plastic making environment worst' and 'people on daily basic purchasing the things'. Spelling and morphological inaccuracies, such as 'prominenet', 'basic' instead of 'basis', and 'aware' instead of 'aware', show a limited range of control. These errors do not seriously impede communication, supporting a Band 5.5 score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical accuracy is weak throughout the text. There are frequent errors in verb forms, subject-verb agreement, and clause structures, such as 'plastic pollution are widely spreading' and 'some steps that can taken'. Run-on sentences and missing auxiliary verbs also occur frequently, for example, 'if someone not following the rules related to environment then they put a fine'. Although the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors prevents the writer from achieving a higher band, making Band 5.0 the most appropriate score.

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