Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-04

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 7.0)

Plastic products have long been a source of polluting the environment.These products not only play their role in the environmental pollution but also serve as a threat to the ecosystem. Governments and individuals must act responsibly to curb its use. This essay will explain the harmful effects of plastic on the environment and outline the necessary measures that must be taken by the government and individuals to restrict its use.

Plastic has been regarded as a major contributor to the environmental pollution. Since it cannot be recylced, so it is often disposed off by burning, which releases harmful pollutants in the air such as, carbon monoxide that has been regarded as a major cause of ozone layer depletion. This then allows the ultraviolet rays to directly reach the earth. Furthermore, the unregulated discharge of plastic waste in the seas and oceans contaminate the water which leads to a destruction of the natural marine ecosystem. For instance, in Pakistan, there are no checks and balances on the disposal of plastic waste in the seas. As a result, many marine animals are vulnerable to water pollution and some are pushed to the verge of extinction.

The need of the hour is that governments must make deliberate efforts to ban the use of plastic bags, bottles, and packaging. For this purpose, strict regulations must be imposed on the manufacturers to make products only from recyclable materials. To illustrate, Nestle has recently boycotted the manufacturing of plastic straws, and as a part of green environment initiative it has introduced paper straws. In addition, it is important that individuals must act responsibly and boycott the use of any products made of plastic. For this purpose, awareness campaigns must be conducted by volunteers to educate the general public regarding the drawbacks of using plastic items.

In conclusion, plastic has been a major cause of environmental pollution and its unregulated disposal can destroy the marine ecosystem. The collaborative efforts by governments and individuals can be very effective to solve this problem.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You successfully address all parts of the prompt by explaining the harmful environmental effects of plastic and detailing practical measures that both governments and individuals can take. Your position is clear throughout the essay, and you maintain a logical stance from the introduction to the conclusion. The ideas presented are well-extended and supported with relevant examples, such as the mention of Pakistan's waste management and Nestle's shift to paper straws. However, there is a slight tendency to over-generalize in certain claims, such as stating that plastic cannot be recycled at all, which keeps the response at this current level. To reach the highest bands, ensure all factual premises regarding materials are universally accurate and extend your analysis of individual solutions with even greater depth.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

Your essay demonstrates a clear logical organization and progression throughout. You make effective use of paragraphing, ensuring each paragraph has a distinct central topic, moving smoothly from introduction to environmental damage, then solutions, and finally a concise conclusion. You use cohesive devices flexibly, employing transition markers like 'Furthermore', 'For instance', and 'In addition' to connect your ideas. However, referencing is occasionally slightly mechanical, and smoother integration of cohesive ties would elevate the flow. To push into higher bands, work on making transitions feel entirely natural and unobtrusive rather than formulaic.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task and successfully attempt less common items with some awareness of style and collocation, such as 'ecosystem', 'ozone layer depletion', and 'extinction'. However, there are some minor lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as writing 'a source of polluting' instead of 'a source of pollution', and stating that Nestle 'boycotted' manufacturing when 'ceased' or 'halted' would be more precise. Spelling is generally good, though you misspelled 'recylced' in the second paragraph. To achieve a higher band, focus on refining word choice and using precise collocations consistently without occasional slips.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You display a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures reasonably well. There are several error-free sentences, demonstrating good overall control of grammar and punctuation. However, some persistent errors remain, such as the double prepositional phrasing in 'disposed off by burning' (where 'off' is incorrect and redundant) and the article error 'in the air such as, carbon monoxide'. Additionally, the phrase 'curb its use' contains a pronoun antecedent issue since 'its' refers back to plural 'products'. To reach a higher level, eliminate these minor structural errors and increase the frequency of completely error-free complex sentences.

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