Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-05

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)

Nowadays, usage of polybag, plastic bottles and thermoplastic food wrap usage are increasing it will damage the environment in various approches. An authorities and Individuals need to stand together to solve this issue.

In number of ways plastic usage will damage the ecosystem of Earth. Firstly, one of the major problem is polluting the air. Plastic waste will damage the air quality and decrease the life span of livingthing and if can affect the ozone layer of planet. For example, If a person inhale the polluted air it will damage the lungs and lead to cancer. As result, It will impact on their lifespan and damage the ozone layer as well.

Secondaly, major problem plastic will take decades to disolve into the soil. It can affect the land and ocean as well. Intentionally or without Intentionally animals will Consume the plastic and it can lead to death of an animal. For example, Paper can dislove into the soil quicker and it takes just days but for thermoplastic it won't dislove the plastic to soil it takes decades to disolve and An animal there is a chance to eat them and it lead to death. As a result, It will affect the quality of soil, it leads to harm the food by mixing microplastics for humans and as well as animals.

We can prevent the problems with the help of authorities and individulas. Government need to take strict action on usage of thermoplastic and ban them. If any shop keeper or Food stalls or hotels using non recycable plastic need to take strict actions and high penalities as well.

Individuals also need to take an incentative to keep their own surrondings on usage of plastic and organised the events for awerness of usage of plastic and support the authorities by reporting any usgae of plastic.

Inconclusion, I believe thermoplastic will play the major part to affect the environment but we as humans we can prevent them with the help of administration and ban the plastic. It will help our ecosystem to be back to track and heal the ozone layer and prevent the animals from eating the plastic.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by identifying environmental damages such as air and soil pollution, and proposes solutions involving both authorities and individuals. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others, which is characteristic of this level. For instance, the explanation of air pollution and its impact on the ozone layer is somewhat repetitive and lacks precise scientific clarity, while the discussion on animal consumption is slightly confused by phrasing like 'Intentionally or without Intentionally animals will Consume the plastic'. The position is clear throughout, but the development tends to rely on generalizations rather than extending points with fully realized specific examples. To reach a higher level, the writer needs to expand on the consequences of plastic pollution with more detailed, coherent explanations rather than repeating similar assertions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt at a logical progression of ideas, separating the discussion into environmental damage and subsequent solutions. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the response into introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. The writer relies heavily on basic sequencing markers like 'Firstly' and 'Secondaly', and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'it will damage the air quality... and if can affect the ozone layer of planet'. Furthermore, the transitional phrases between sentences occasionally feel abrupt, preventing a smoother flow of ideas. To achieve a higher band, the writer should employ a wider range of cohesive devices more flexibly and ensure that referencing between sentences is consistently clear and natural.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate central ideas about pollution and waste management. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'ecosystem', 'thermoplastic', and 'penalities', but these are accompanied by notable inaccuracies in word choice, spelling, and word form. Examples include 'polybag' instead of 'plastic bags', 'approches' instead of 'approaches', 'disolve' instead of 'dissolve', and 'incentative' instead of 'initiative'. Additionally, collocation is sometimes awkward, as seen in phrases like 'take an incentative' or 'organised the events for awerness'. These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score because the range remains limited and mechanical. Incorporating more precise academic vocabulary with correct spelling and collocations would elevate this aspect of the writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and conditional structures. However, there is a limited range of structures used with consistent control, and frequent errors persist. Grammatical errors involve articles ('An authorities', 'the planet'), subject-verb agreement ('Government need', 'hotel using... need to take'), prepositions ('dissolve into the soil' versus 'dissolve the plastic to soil'), and tense consistency. Punctuation is also problematic, particularly with run-on sentences and comma splices, such as in 'Plastic waste will damage the air quality and decrease the life span of livingthing and if can affect the ozone layer of planet.' These errors occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader. To improve, the writer needs to demonstrate better control over basic grammatical patterns, plurals, and sentence boundaries while reducing the frequency of structural errors.

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