Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-16

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 6.0)

It is commonly observed nowadays plastic is the major source of pollutant and its damaging the environment in many ways.In this essay i will discuss the problems caused by the extreme use of plastic bags,bottles and also suggest some measures by government and people to alleviate this issue.

There are many problems caused by the use of plastic.To begin with,online shopping is increasing day by day which requires a lot of packaging to travel for miles by shipping or trucking.After using the items , consumer throw these plastic bags which are really harmful for the environment.They unknowingly dump on the land and in water.Then these are comsumed by the land animals and mammals which ultimately lead to death.Moreover, when people burn these harmful plastic bags and bottles,then they release harmful toxic chemicals and fumes which are dangerous for human lungs and causing diseases like arthritis,infection and asthma.

Many steps can be taken by government and individuals to address this issue.The first and foremost step is that government has to implement the strict laws and regulations to regulate the use of plastic bottles and bags.In addition, government has to give the alternatives of plastic bags and bottles so that it will be easy for the local people to avoid the use of plastic.Also, government has to start awareness programs to aware the local people about discussing the harmful effects of plastic waste. Last but not least, its the responsibility of the individuals to avoid the products with more packaging and also prefer offline shopping and also carry their own cloth made bags for the shopping.

To conclude, i would like to reiterate that there are many factors responsible for damaging the environment by the extreme use of plastic bottles and bags,but these can be solved by taking necessary steps.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both parts of the question and maintain a clear focus on plastic pollution. The effects you identify include harm to animals that consume discarded plastic and toxic fumes from burning it, while your proposed responses include regulation, alternatives, public awareness and reusable bags. These relevant points support the response’s solid coverage of the task. However, some ideas are less fully developed than others: the online-shopping example explains how packaging is used, but the link to wider environmental damage could be clearer, and the health effects of fumes are listed without explanation or support. The measures are also presented briefly. To strengthen the response further, explain how each action would reduce plastic waste and develop one or two examples in more detail.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on environmental damage, a paragraph on solutions, and a conclusion. The progression from problems to responses is easy to follow, and signposting such as “To begin with,” “Moreover,” and “To conclude” helps guide the reader. This gives the essay a logical flow. At times, however, the linking is somewhat formulaic, with several points introduced through a list-like sequence (“In addition,” “Also,” and “Last but not least”). Some references are also unclear, such as “Then these are consumed,” where the reader must infer that “these” means discarded plastic bags. Use a wider range of links and make references explicit to improve cohesion while preserving the clear paragraph structure.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “toxic chemicals,” “regulations,” “alternatives,” and “awareness programs,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. There are also attempts at more specific language, such as “packaging” and “fumes.” However, the range and control are uneven, with noticeable spelling and word-choice errors: “comsumed,” “pollutant,” and “aware” in “to aware the local people.” Some phrases are also unnatural or imprecise, including “extreme use of plastic” and “give the alternatives.” These choices sometimes make the expression less clear or fluent. Build a bank of accurate collocations related to waste and policy, and check spelling and word forms carefully. More precise phrasing would make your ideas sound more natural and academic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “which ultimately lead to death” and a conditional structure in “so that it will be easy.” The overall meaning remains understandable, but errors in sentence construction, agreement, articles and punctuation are noticeable. For example, “plastic is the major source of pollutant” needs a more accurate noun phrase, while “consumer throw” has a subject–verb agreement problem. The opening sentence also joins clauses without clear punctuation, and several sentences have missing spaces after commas or full stops. These issues reduce accuracy, even though they do not usually prevent the reader from following the argument. Review agreement and article use, and proofread sentence boundaries and punctuation.

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