Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-01

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)

The most dangerous item in the world is "plastic". The products which making from plastic such as bags, bottles and packaging are harmful for the nature. In my opinion, plastic should be entirely banned by governments and local people.

There are plenty of damages plastic do. Firstly, it does not naturally decay or biodegradable like organic matter because its synthetic carbon-carbon bonds are completely foreign to nature, meaning microorganisms and bacteria lack the enzymes to break them down. To illustrate, a standard plastic bag caught on a wire fence exposed to sun and wind will become brittle, fade, and tear into small shreds within 20 years. Moreover, it does not disappear; it simply turns into thousands of tiny plastic flakes scattered by the wind.

Secondly, packaging represents the largest single source of single waste globally. For instance, The rigid covering of medicine oills or electronics gets crushed under tone of trash. It is estimated to remain completely intact for over 500 years.

The solution of this problem is that government should Pass extended producer responsibility laws in which manufacturers to pay for the entire lifecycle of their products. Furthermore, people should adopt the reuse, recyclable components. For example, they should emphasize themselves to use of paper bags for grocery, clothing etcetera.

To sum up, individuals drive the demand, but governments must regulate the supply to create a circular economy where packaging never becomes permanent waste. So, please stop to use such harmful things which put our next generation into toxicity.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by identifying the environmental damage caused by plastic and suggesting solutions involving both governments and individuals. The position is clear throughout, particularly in the introduction and conclusion. However, the development of ideas is uneven, meeting the criteria for a solid score in this area. For example, while the explanation of why plastic does not naturally decay is extended with a good illustration regarding a standard plastic bag, the second body paragraph on packaging contains under-developed ideas and minor factual or logical gaps, such as 'The rigid covering of medicine oills or electronics gets crushed under tone of trash'. To move further up, all parts of the prompt would need fully extended, consistent support without any lapses in logical progression.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The text maintains a coherent overall arrangement and logical progression, utilizing clear paragraphing where each body paragraph addresses a distinct aspect of the prompt. Cohesive devices are employed to signal transitions, such as 'Firstly', 'Moreover', and 'Secondly', which help guide the reader through the arguments. Nevertheless, cohesion sometimes feels a bit mechanical or faulty, as seen in the referencing and logical transitions between sentences in the packaging paragraph. Furthermore, referencing is not always completely clear, such as the pronoun use in 'plenty of damages plastic do'. To achieve a higher band, the transitions and referencing would need to be smoother and more sophisticated, creating an entirely seamless flow without any mechanical feel.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'extended producer responsibility', 'synthetic carbon-carbon bonds', and 'circular economy'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and word formation throughout the response, including phrases like 'products which making from', 'single waste', 'medicine oills', and 'tone of trash' instead of tons. Spelling and word-choice errors are present, such as 'biodegradable' used as an adjective alongside 'decay', but they do not actively impede overall communication. To reach the next level, the writer would need to use a wider range of less common vocabulary with much greater precision, control, and awareness of style and collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and conditional structures. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that prevent the text from achieving a higher band. Examples of errors include subject-verb agreement issues like 'plenty of damages plastic do', missing articles, preposition errors, and awkward phrasing such as 'government should Pass extended producer responsibility laws in which manufacturers to pay'. Additionally, punctuation slips and phrasing like 'please stop to use' occur. While these errors rarely impede overall communication, they represent a recurring pattern of inaccuracy in complex structures. A higher band would require a greater proportion of error-free sentences and tighter control over grammatical patterns and verb complements.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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