Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-17

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)

The increasing usage of plastic handbags and packagings is considered harmful for the environment. It can have a negative impact on aquatic animals, and also result in infertile lands. But imposing restrictions and responsible utilization of plastic materials can mitigate the occurence to a large extent.

The plastic products can pollute the environments in several ways. The primary one is that it can affect agricultural lands. This chemically produced materials can not be composed even after many yers. Because of this, it will pile up under the soil. This will lead to reduce agricultural cultivation, and eventually result in infertile lands. Moreover, it pose a threat to the animals living under the water. When plastic bags and it's particles dumped into a water body, it can be swallowed by these living beings. As a consequence, they will be suffocate to death and eventually become extinct. Hence, it can be injurious to such animals and lower agricultural harvest.

However, the effective measures are available to curb the situation. The foremost one is that authorities should recycle plastic waste as much as possible.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You address both parts of the question: you describe harm to agricultural land and aquatic animals, and you begin to propose recycling as a government measure. The opening also gives a relevant overall position. However, the response is incomplete: the solutions section stops after one brief suggestion, so the role of individuals is not explained, and the proposed measures are not supported with examples. The environmental effects are relevant, but the explanation of how plastic damages soil and reduces cultivation would benefit from clearer detail. The response is also below the required 250 words, which limits how fully you can develop the task. To improve, cover both governments and individuals and explain how each action would help.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph on environmental damage, and a final paragraph beginning to discuss solutions. Linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “As a consequence,” and “However” help signal relationships between ideas. The progression within the damage paragraph is generally understandable, moving from soil pollution to harm to aquatic animals. However, the final paragraph is very short and does not develop the contrast introduced by “However”; the essay therefore ends without a complete progression through the task. Some references, such as “it” and “these living beings,” could also be made more precise. Develop the solutions paragraph and use clear topic sentences and references to make the overall argument feel complete.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “aquatic animals,” “agricultural lands,” “recycle plastic waste,” and “mitigate,” which helps communicate the main ideas. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “imposing restrictions.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “plastic handbags,” “infertile lands,” and “lower agricultural harvest.” Spelling errors such as “occurence” and “yers” also reduce accuracy. Some expressions are repeated, particularly references to plastic and environmental harm. Aim for more natural combinations, such as “plastic bags,” “fertile soil,” and “reduce crop yields,” and check spelling carefully. This would make your vocabulary more precise and fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a conditional-style explanation beginning “When plastic bags…” and cause-and-effect sentences such as “Because of this, it will pile up under the soil.” The main meaning is usually understandable, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “This chemically produced materials” has a subject–verb agreement problem, “it pose a threat” needs agreement, and “they will be suffocate” uses an incorrect verb form. There are also issues with articles and number, as in “a water body” and “these living beings.” Work on agreement, verb forms, and sentence patterns, then proofread each sentence. More accurate complex sentences would strengthen the range you are already attempting.

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