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)

Now a days, plastic bags, bottels and packaging have become a serious problem for the envoirnment. People use plastic in their dailly lives because it is cheap and convienent. However, it causes many envoirnmental problems. Governments and individuals should take stepsto reduce plastic pollution.

Plastic cause sevral type of damage to the environment.Firstly, shoping bags and bottles take many years to decompose. As a result they remain in the environment for a long time and polutethe land and water.

Secondly, plastic waste can harm animals. For example, sea animals may eat plastic by mistake which can cause serious effects even death. Moreover, plastic waste can block drains and cause flooding in cities, especially during heavey rainfall. Burning plastic also produces harmfull gases that pollute the air and affect humman health.

There are several ways to solve this problem. Government should take strict action and reduce the plastic things such as bottles and bags.They should also give the awarness through schools, television and social media. For example, shops can encorrage people to take a bowel or a reusable cloth bags.

They should avoid the use of plastic waste and rubbish and put in the recycle bin. In addition, people should avoid the throwing plastics on the street.

In conclusion,plastic should damage the water, animals and land pollutions. Government should take rules more individulas change their daily habbits.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both parts of the question: the essay identifies environmental damage, including harm to wildlife, blocked drains and air pollution from burning plastic, and suggests action by governments and individuals. The examples, such as sea animals eating plastic and shops encouraging reusable bags, are relevant. However, several points are stated briefly rather than explained; for instance, the proposed government action to “reduce the plastic things” is not made specific, and the recycling advice is unclear. The conclusion also gives an awkward summary rather than a clear, well-expressed final position. The response is 24 words below the required minimum, so there is less space to develop the ideas. Explain the effects and practical solutions more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on environmental damage, a paragraph on solutions, and a conclusion. Sequencing words such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” “Moreover,” and “In addition” help readers follow the main points. However, some connections are mechanical, and the solutions paragraph shifts abruptly from government measures to individual behaviour. The sentence beginning “They should avoid the use of plastic waste” has an unclear reference, making it difficult to tell who “they” refers to. Paragraphing is generally appropriate, but the final paragraph does not clearly synthesise the discussion. Group related actions together and use explicit references to improve progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “decompose,” “pollute,” “recycle bin,” and “reusable cloth bags,” which helps communicate the main ideas. The range is nevertheless limited, and several word-choice or spelling errors are noticeable, such as “plastic things,” “give the awarness,” and “plastic should damage.” These expressions are imprecise or do not convey the intended meaning naturally. Frequent spelling errors, including “envoirnment,” “bottels,” and “heavey,” also distract the reader. Build a more accurate set of environmental collocations and check spelling carefully. For example, use “plastic products,” “raise awareness,” and “plastic pollution damages ecosystems” to express ideas more precisely.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some complex sentences, including “For example, sea animals may eat plastic by mistake which can cause serious effects even death,” and use simple sentences to present solutions. However, grammatical errors occur frequently and sometimes make relationships between ideas unclear. Examples include “Plastic cause” instead of a correctly formed subject–verb construction, “Government should take strict action,” and “people should avoid the throwing plastics.” The final sentence, “Government should take rules more individulas change their daily habbits,” lacks a clear grammatical structure. Sentence boundaries and punctuation are also inconsistent, as in “environment.Firstly.” Practise accurate agreement, articles, plural forms and complete sentence structures before adding more complex clauses.

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