Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-26

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)

It is increasingly discussed about plastic disposable packagings are harmful for our environment these day. The primary reason for this phenomenon is massive ocean pollution has been discovered. and it is destroying our ocean. In my view, governments should come out with a rewarded recycling program and local citizen could participate the program as well.

Regarding the reason behind this trend, the most significant factor is one-time-used plastic diposable packagings being used significantly these day. To explain further, all these plastic made products contributed to the masive river and ocean pollution, effected the sea eco-system. Consequently, effected the local tourism business for the whole country.

I strongly believe that local goverments should come out with a rewarded program for the local. This is primarily becuase people will feel encourage by the rewards. A clear illustration of this is governments could run a rewarded water bottle recycling program in the designed locations, moreover, encourage separate all kind of plastic food containers for recycling while doing trash, additonally individuals could use reusable bag while gocery shopping. Therefore, it is evident that rewarded programs, recycling plastic products and reusable bag are much better and effective way to reduce the pollution.

In conclusion, ocean and river pollution are contributed by massia plastic p

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both parts of the prompt: you identify river and ocean pollution as environmental damage and suggest government recycling rewards alongside individual actions such as using reusable bags. However, the response only partially develops these points. The effects on marine ecosystems and tourism are mentioned, but not explained with a specific example or clear consequences; the proposed measures also need more detail about how they would work. The opening is difficult to follow, and the conclusion is cut off, so your overall position and summary are not fully conveyed. The response is 41 words below the required minimum, which limits the space available to develop your ideas. Explain each effect and solution more fully and complete the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph about environmental damage, a paragraph proposing solutions, and an attempted conclusion. This gives the reader some sense of the response’s direction. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven, and several links are unclear. For example, “The primary reason for this phenomenon” does not clearly connect to the question about environmental damage, while “Consequently, effected the local tourism business” is an incomplete sentence rather than a clear result. The solutions paragraph also packs several suggestions into one long sequence using “moreover” and “additionally.” Use clearer topic sentences, connect each cause to its consequence, and separate the government and individual actions into distinct, logically developed points.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “ocean pollution,” “sea eco-system,” “recycling program,” and “reusable bag,” so the subject is generally identifiable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or forms are inaccurate or repetitive, which sometimes makes the meaning harder to follow. Examples include “plastic disposable packagings,” “one-time-used plastic diposable packagings,” and “rewarded program”; more natural expressions would be “single-use plastic packaging” and “incentive-based recycling scheme.” There are also noticeable spelling errors, such as “masive,” “goverments,” and “additonally.” Build a bank of accurate environmental collocations and check spelling and plural forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some complex structures, including “This is primarily because…” and “A clear illustration of this is…,” but control is inconsistent, and many sentences contain errors that can make the reader pause. For instance, “It is increasingly discussed about…” has an incorrect construction, and “local citizen could participate the program” is missing both appropriate number agreement and a preposition. “Consequently, effected the local tourism business” is a sentence fragment, while the final sentence is incomplete. Sentence boundaries and punctuation also need attention, as in the lower-case “and” after a full stop. Practise forming complete subject–verb sentences, checking articles and agreement, and using complex clauses only when their structure is secure.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.