Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-07

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)

These days using plastic things are increasing day by day by individuals. it is not good for environnment because it puts bad impacts on animals lives .This essay will discuss problem and sollution for this in upcoming paragraphs.

Firstly,one of the major problem is that plastic things take a very long time for decompose.As a result,plastic waste reamain in a river and oceans for many years. Plastic pollution is also harm animals beacuse they can eat plastic due to this they can fall prey of serious health issues. For example sea animals mistake plastic bags for food which can cause death injuries. Furturemore plastic things realese harmfull gases.

There are savrel ways to solve this proplem. Government should make stricts rules to reduce the use of plastic bags for example they can charge customer for plastic bags or plastic packaging.Government should also provide recycling facilities and make aware people about environmentel protection.People can also play important role to solve this issue they should use reusable shopping bags and water bottles insted of buying dispsable once. They should also seprate recycle waste and avoid product with excessive plastic packaging.

In conclusion,Plastic can damage to land and it is also not good for animals and as wll as realese very harmful gases which is not good for environment however this problem can solve through many ways such as people should avoid to use plastic things if they use reusable bags then with the help of this they can keep their environment safe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both parts of the question: you explain that plastic persists in rivers and oceans, harms animals that mistake it for food, and can release harmful gases, then suggest government restrictions, recycling facilities, public awareness, and reusable products. These are relevant ideas, and the sea-animal example helps illustrate the damage. However, some points are only briefly stated: the effects on land and the gases are not explained, and the proposed measures are listed more than developed. For example, you could explain how charging for bags reduces use or how recycling facilities prevent waste entering waterways. Developing these links and giving a clearer, more specific example would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph on environmental damage, a paragraph on solutions, and a conclusion. Sequencing words such as “Firstly,” “As a result,” “Furthermore,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the main stages. However, some connections feel mechanical, and the conclusion repeats several points rather than drawing them together. The opening sentence also moves quickly from increasing plastic use to its environmental effects without a clear link. Within the solutions paragraph, government actions and individual actions could be separated or connected with a clearer transition. Use referencing carefully and vary linking methods so that relationships between causes, effects, and solutions are explicit rather than relying mainly on signposting phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “plastic pollution,” “recycling facilities,” “reusable shopping bags,” and “excessive plastic packaging,” which helps communicate the subject. However, the range is limited and several inaccurate word choices, collocations, and spelling errors make parts less clear, such as “bad impacts on animals lives,” “fall prey of serious health issues,” and “realese harmfull gases.” Some repeated general phrases, including “plastic things” and “solve this problem,” also reduce precision. Aim to use more exact environmental terms and check spelling and word forms carefully. For instance, describe plastic as “taking a long time to decompose” and explain that animals may “ingest plastic,” rather than relying on broad or awkward expressions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a cause-and-effect structure in “As a result, plastic waste remain in a river and oceans for many years” and a conditional idea beginning “if they use reusable bags.” The overall meaning is generally understandable, but errors in agreement, articles, verb forms, and sentence construction occur across the response. For example, “using plastic things are increasing” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “this problem can solve” needs a passive construction. Punctuation and capitalisation are also inconsistent, particularly after full stops and commas. To improve, build accurate sentence patterns first, then extend them with clauses; check that each subject matches its verb and that passive forms include the appropriate auxiliary verb.

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