Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

In the modern era, Plastic has become a major concern in the world. Most of ecosystem is damaging by different kinds of plastic such as bags, bottles and so on. In my perspective, there are plenty of causes of plastic in destroying environment like health problems are faced by human beings as well as animals, and air pollution but a few solutions are available here to reduce this issue that I will expain in the upcoming paragraphs.

To begin with, the main reason is health related problems that are encountered by humans and wild animals. This is because that nowadays, most of people buy packed things like food, plastic water bottles which are not useful for their health. They can face some serious health problems. After using these things, they throw plastic everywhere which is harmful for animals because animals eat plastic. So, this is so dangeous for them and also for our ecosystem. Furthermore, Plastic cannot be damaged but many people try to damage it by fire which causes of air pollution. When people destroy it by doing this, It produces harmful gases that are so terrible for our ecosystem. It causes the air pollution. As a result, Individuals should use less plastic and do not throw plastic anywhere.

On the other hand, some of solutions should be applied to save environment. The main remedy is that plastic things like bags, bottles or plastic packging should be banned by the administration. Due to this, people will not use plastic bags or bottles. Instead of these, paper bags can be used or homemade bags by clothing. Thus, It would be a significant solution to reduce plastic things to use. Additionally, if shopkeepers sell plastic bags or bottles to customers, they will have pay fine. These rules should be made by authorities to decrease the use of plastic.

In conclusion, although plastic damage environment like health problems, air pollution, I believe that some steps should be taken by goverments such as plastic things should be banned and if salesman use or sell it, have to pay fine.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both parts of the question and maintain a clear focus on environmental harm and possible responses. You identify health risks to people and animals, plastic ingestion by wildlife, and air pollution from burning plastic; you also propose restrictions, alternatives such as paper or cloth bags, and fines. These are relevant ideas, but some are not fully explained. For example, the health effects of plastic packaging are asserted without showing how they occur, and the proposed ban is not balanced with practical considerations or a specific example. Develop each point with a clearer cause-and-effect explanation and support it with a relevant example to make the response more complete and convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on harms, a paragraph on solutions, and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “To begin with,” “Furthermore,” and “On the other hand” help signal the stages of the argument. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. The introduction promises “plenty of causes,” although the task asks about damage, and the shift from health problems to people buying packaged goods is not fully explained. The conclusion also repeats the proposed ban and fines without drawing the main points together. Use more precise links between cause and effect, and make each paragraph’s central idea explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “ecosystem,” “air pollution,” “harmful gases,” “administration,” and “fine,” so the reader can follow the main message. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making ideas less clear. For instance, “Most of ecosystem is damaging” does not express the intended meaning naturally, while “plastic cannot be damaged” appears to mean that it does not readily break down. There are also spelling errors such as “expain,” “dangeous,” and “packging.” Build a more precise set of environmental terms and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including cause-and-effect clauses with “because” and a conditional sentence beginning “if shopkeepers sell.” This gives the response some structural variety, and the main ideas are generally understandable. However, errors occur across sentence forms, including agreement, articles, verb patterns, and punctuation. Examples include “Most of ecosystem is damaging,” “most of people,” and “they will have pay fine.” The opening sentence also contains a long, loosely connected list of ideas, which makes its structure difficult to follow. Practise accurate basic sentence patterns first, then use complex clauses with careful control of subjects, verbs, and articles.

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