Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-06

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)

It is widely accepted that plastic pollution is an emerging problem. The pollution from plastic bottles, bags and plastic packaging has caused a significant damage to the environment. This essay will discuss the main causes of this problem and also suggest the measures to tackle the problem.

Plastic pollution has become a major problem. Firstly, plastic waste is highly resistant to decomposition and can remain for hundreds of years in the ocean and on land. Plastic waste in the ocean may harm the marine life. For instance, turtles and sea birds may consume plastic as their food that may cause harm to the marine species. Secondly, plastic waste in the ocean and on lands turns into the tiny particles called microplastic. These particles can pollute the air and water which later harm the human life. Finally, the gases from the burning of plastic waste caused the air pollution leads to climate change.

In terms of solution, the government have to play a crucial role. The government authorities needs to take some initiative by enforcing strict norms. To illustrate, government can ban single use of the plastic and may introduce the clothing bag instead of plastic bag. Moreover, the government can improve or installed the better recycle decomposition plants. Citizens also needs to understand their responsibility such as not to use the plastic bags and not to litter the plastic waste in the environment. For instance, individuals can start some awareness camps to enligten the causes from the plastic pollution.

In colclusion, problem from the plastic waste is significant. However, by emphasising the strict regulations and guidlines by the governement and responsibility from the individuals can solve this problem effectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task, discussing both the environmental damage caused by plastic and potential solutions from governments and individuals. The position is clear throughout. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others, which keeps the response at this level. For instance, while the environmental impacts are explained well through examples like microplastics and marine life, the section on solutions tends to list points rather than fully extending them. To reach a higher level, every main idea needs to be thoroughly elaborated with deeper explanations and more specific, fully integrated real-world examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay presents a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information and ideas are coherently arranged, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs addressing the prompt's two questions, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'Finally', and 'In terms of solution' are used effectively to guide the reader through the text, although they occasionally feel a bit mechanical. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct central topic. To achieve an even higher score, the integration of cohesive ties could be made more subtle and flexible rather than relying so heavily on standard transitional markers.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'decomposition', 'microplastic', and 'enlighten', though there are occasional inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'clothing bag' instead of 'reusable bag' or 'installed the better recycle decomposition plants'. Spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'colclusion' in the final paragraph, are present but do not impede communication. To move up to a higher band, the writer needs to demonstrate a more precise and natural control of less common lexical items and collocations with fewer slips in word form.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and conditional ideas. However, there are some noticeable errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly with subject-verb agreement and singular/plural forms, such as 'the government have', 'The government authorities needs', 'Citizens also needs', and 'problem from the plastic waste'. Additionally, articles are occasionally misused or omitted, as seen in 'the single use of the plastic' and 'air pollution leads'. While these errors rarely impede communication and the meaning remains clear, they reflect a limited control over complex structures and prevent the writer from achieving a higher level.

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

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