Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-14

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)

Preserving the environment is crucial for the humanity. Plastic crockery and disposable packaging play a major role in damaging the environment and more awareness is needed to help control this for a sustainable future.

Firstly, it greatly affects the marine life, a large number of plastic bags end up in the sea and eventually results in deaths of several species that either get tangled or consume these materials perceiving it as food. Researchers have also found the existence of millions of microplastics on several animals they tested in their study.

Moreover, plastic bags that are not handled properly, end up in canals or drainage.This affects the flow of sewage and drainage particularly in the event of rain and flood. It sometimes lead to a disaster if no proper cleaning is done prior to these events. For example, a huge drain array was blocked by plastic waste in Pakistan recently, that resulted in displacement of several villages and deaths.

I believe governments should raise awareness on how to properly use these materials and also on the proper disposal of waste produced by them. Adapting for a biodegradable material is another solution to this problem which regulatory body in government can enforce through effective policies. Furthermore, more control is needed to stop the rising trend of disposable cutlery since it eventually ends up in the waste. Many countries, like Qatar for instance, has put a ban on single-use plates and other crockery.

This alongwith individual contribution will help the world move towards a sustainable and healthy future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response addresses both parts of the task and maintains a clear position that action is needed. The environmental damage is explained through two relevant effects: harm to marine animals, including entanglement and ingestion, and blocked drainage that can worsen flooding. The Pakistan example helps illustrate the second point. Solutions also cover both groups: governments can raise awareness, enforce biodegradable alternatives and restrict disposable cutlery, while the final sentence recognises individual responsibility. To strengthen the response further, develop the individual actions more explicitly—for example, reducing plastic use, reusing items or sorting waste—rather than leaving this contribution general. Some claims, such as the flood example, would also benefit from clearer explanation of how plastic blockage caused the reported consequences.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two paragraphs on environmental damage, a paragraph on government measures and a brief conclusion. Sequencing is generally logical, and signposts such as “Firstly,” “Moreover” and “Furthermore” help readers follow the points. However, cohesion is not always smooth: the shift from the effects of plastic to solutions is abrupt, and the final sentence refers broadly to “individual contribution” without developing or linking it to a specific action. Some connections within sentences are also awkward, such as the transition from blocked drainage to the example of flooding. To move beyond this level, use referencing and transitions more precisely and make the relationship between each example and its claim explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

There is an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “marine life,” “microplastics,” “biodegradable material,” “disposable cutlery” and “single-use plates.” These choices communicate the subject clearly, and some less common terms show an effort to be precise. However, several expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, which limits flexibility: “plastic crockery” is not the clearest way to describe the wider problem, “Adapting for a biodegradable material” is awkward, and “drain array” is an unusual collocation. “This alongwith” also contains a spelling/spacing error. Aim for more natural combinations such as “switching to biodegradable alternatives” and “drainage system,” and choose wording that precisely describes the environmental issue.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex structures, including relative clauses (“species that either get tangled or consume these materials”) and a conditional clause (“if no proper cleaning is done”). Meaning remains clear overall, but some grammatical errors occur. For example, “it eventually results in deaths” has an unclear singular reference after “a large number of plastic bags,” while “It sometimes lead” has subject–verb disagreement. In “Many countries … has put a ban,” the plural subject requires a plural verb. There are also punctuation and sentence-boundary problems, such as the missing space after “drainage.” and the comma splice in “This affects the flow … and drainage particularly…”. Review agreement, sentence boundaries and punctuation to make the complex sentences more controlled.

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