Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

Plastic materials such as bags, bottles and packaging are deterimental for the environment. The main reason is that most plastic are non-biodegradable which contribute to pollution. From my perspective, governments and individuals should take collective measures to resolve these issues.

One of the main downside of using plastic materials is that they cause considerable amount of pollution to the environment. This is mainly because most conventional plastic bags, bottles and other packagings persist in the environment for a long period of time. This simply means plastics do not easily break down by microorganisms which makes it challenging to decompose easily under suitable conditions. For example, many people discard plastic bags in rubbish after a single use. Plastic wastes enter rivers and air and stay in the nature for a longer period, contaminating water and harming wild life.

To address these issues, governments should raise public awareness and implement stricter laws against single-use plastics. In addition, they can enforce effective waste-management laws to collect recycling materials on time. People who abide these rules should pay penalties to ensure plastic recycling is followed seriously. Individuals should adopt environmentally friendly habits such as recycling shopping bags, straw and compostable packaging materials. For instance, household should separate plastic waste from other rubbish. If individuals follow recycling habits regularly, they will more likely to minimize adverse affects on the enironment.

In conclusion, most conventional plastics such as bags, bottles and packaging materials are harmful for the environment because they cause pollution. Governments and individuals should work collectively by encouraging awareness and use plastic alternatives to reduce the environmental degradation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the question and maintains a clear position that governments and individuals should act together. It identifies persistent plastic waste as a cause of pollution and gives relevant examples, including discarded bags entering rivers and household waste separation. The proposed measures—public awareness, stricter laws, penalties and recycling—are also pertinent. This meets the core requirements well, with some elements showing the fuller development expected at the next level. However, the environmental damage is explained mainly as general pollution: the effects on wildlife and ecosystems could be developed further, and the government proposals would benefit from clearer explanation of how they would reduce plastic use or improve disposal. Some recommendations, such as penalties for people who follow the rules, are also unclear in meaning. More precise development would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay is organised clearly into an introduction, a paragraph explaining the damage, a paragraph proposing solutions, and a conclusion. The progression from the problem to possible responses is easy to follow, and linking phrases such as “For example,” “In addition,” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of the argument. This is a coherent overall structure with a clear line of development. To make the cohesion more flexible and precise, improve links between some claims: for example, the sentence about plastic entering “rivers and air” follows the example of discarded bags but does not explain how the waste reaches each environment. The reference in “these issues” is understandable, though a more specific reference could make the connection sharper. Avoid relying mainly on formulaic transitions by showing cause-and-effect relationships more explicitly.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The response uses an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “non-biodegradable,” “waste-management,” “single-use plastics,” “compostable packaging,” and “environmental degradation.” These choices show an attempt to use more specific language, and the meaning is generally clear. Some less accurate word choices and collocations, however, limit precision: “deterimental” is misspelled, “plastic wastes” is awkward in this context, and “stay in the nature” is not idiomatic. There are also spelling errors in “enironment” and “affects” where “effects” is intended. Aim to check spelling and learn common environmental collocations as complete phrases. More precise wording would help distinguish pollution of water, air and habitats rather than grouping these effects together.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The essay includes a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as the relative clause in “plastics do not easily break down by microorganisms which makes it challenging to decompose” and the conditional sentence beginning “If individuals follow recycling habits regularly.” Most sentences remain understandable, and the grammar does not prevent the reader from following the argument. Some errors in agreement, articles, plurals and sentence construction persist. For example, “most plastic are” should be “most plastics are” or “most plastic is,” while “One of the main downside” needs a plural noun. “Household should separate” also needs a plural form or an article, and “people who abide these rules” requires a preposition after “abide.” Review agreement and article use, and check that clauses are connected clearly; this will improve accuracy while preserving the range of structures attempted.

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