Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-29

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)

Nowadays, littering has beame the main concern for the environment. Global environment has been affected due to the plastic damage in severe ways including flooding and others creatures. However, it can be tackled by governments introducing new stricter rules on avoiding recycle and the society should be responsible to encourage people to understand how imporatnt to reccle plastic items.

There are many reasons are that plastic items, such as bags, bottles, and packaging, has been damaging the environment. Firstly, flooding is one of the significant problems from littering plastics because it blocks the water to move in heavy rain. Secondly, plastics littering mostly common in the tourist places like oceans and rivers, where other creatures live and affected their lives in hazard. For example, if people do not throw their plastic items in proper recyle bin, they can be spreaded out to the sea and rivers year after year as plastic does not melt to the nature. As a result, the creatures which live in water will be affected in poor sea level water.

To address this issue, I strongly believe that authorities should take some necessary steps by implementing a large amount of fine on littering. There are some people who are reluctant to do some extra work to recycle the plastic items, as they have been working most of the time and busy with their other schedules. So, if people has to pay for their reckless littering, they will stop doing the same thing in future. In addition, societies should contribute by educating the importance of recycling and impact on environmental damage.

In conclusion, recycling plastic items is significantly necessary to save the environmental damage. I believe governments and socieities both should be participate to encourage more people to avoid littering

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the task: it identifies environmental harm, especially blocked drainage and risks to aquatic wildlife, and proposes government fines and public education. These are relevant ideas, but the explanation is uneven and sometimes unclear. The flooding point is linked to plastic blocking water flow, while the effect on wildlife is only broadly described; the example about plastic reaching rivers and seas does not explain the specific harm to animals. The solutions also need fuller development—for instance, explain how education could change disposal habits or mention practical measures such as providing recycling facilities. The position that both authorities and society should act is present, but it would be stronger if stated and supported more clearly throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph on environmental damage, a paragraph on solutions, and a conclusion. This helps the reader follow the main direction of the response. Linking expressions such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” “For example,” and “In addition” make relationships between points visible. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. The opening moves from littering to “flooding and others creatures” without explaining the relationship, and “As a result” introduces an unclear consequence. The conclusion repeats the general call for action rather than drawing the two main solutions together. Use clearer references and make each paragraph progress from a main point to its explanation and example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses relevant topic vocabulary, including “plastic items,” “littering,” “recycle bin,” “fine,” and “environmental damage,” so the reader can identify the subject and main ideas. There are also attempts at more specific language, such as “reluctant” and “implementing.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making meaning difficult to follow. For example, “other creatures live and affected their lives in hazard” and “poor sea level water” do not express the intended environmental impact clearly. Spelling errors such as “beame,” “imporatnt,” and “socieities” also reduce accuracy. Build a bank of natural topic phrases and check spelling and word forms during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The essay attempts both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional sentence beginning “if people do not throw…” and a reason clause with “as they have been working…”. This shows some range, but control is inconsistent, and errors recur in agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence construction. Examples include “plastic items… has been damaging,” “There are many reasons are,” and “if people has to pay.” The final sentence also has an incorrect verb pattern: “both should be participate.” These errors can make some ideas harder to understand. Practise checking the subject and verb in each clause, and revise complex sentences to ensure that each has a clear, grammatically complete structure.

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.