Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-02

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)

Well, people use plastic for almost everything in a day-to-day life. Plastic is a big threat to the environment. Plastic damages the environment badly. I will discuss the reasons in the following paragraphs.

To begin with, plastic increases the pollution. In addition, plastic bottles harm nature. Not only environment but also humans and animals are affected. For instance, people in some countries feed fish in the river with food such as wheat flour. They make balls from the flour and feed that to the fish. In addition, they keep the food in the plastic bags. At the end, they throw the plastic bag into the river which harm fish as well as pollute the river.

What is more, plastic packaging is a danger for humans. It is scientifically proven that plastic contains cancerious chemicals. So, usage of plastic is damaging everything. Recycling is not always possible for all kind of plastics. As a result, it could be on the road and which creates a pollution and environment affects.

To resolve this issue, first and foremost, the government should ban the plastic. Even they should impose panalty on citizens who use the plastic bags. Secondly, the government should have build numerous recycling centres for plastic. On top of it, schools have a subject regarding how to protect our environment.

In addition, individuals can play an important role too. People should get one tote bag for themselves while going out for a grocery shopping. That is how we can reduce the usage of plastic bags.

Overall, plastic is extremely harmful to the environment but with the help of governments and individuals we can get rid of this problem.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both parts of the question: you describe environmental and human harm, then suggest actions for governments and individuals. The river example gives a relevant illustration of how discarded bags can affect fish and pollute water, and the tote-bag suggestion is practical. However, the response only partly develops the damage caused by plastic: claims such as “plastic increases the pollution” and “plastic damages the environment badly” are broad, while the effects of packaging and “cancerious chemicals” are asserted without explanation or support. The proposed ban, penalties, recycling centres and school subject are also listed rather than explained, and the government measures could be made more realistic and specific. Develop fewer points with clearer cause-and-effect reasoning and examples to strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement, moving from environmental damage to solutions and ending with a summary. Paragraphs generally have identifiable purposes, and signposts such as “To begin with,” “What is more,” and “In addition” help readers follow the main stages. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, with repeated additive transitions rather than clear links between claims and explanations. For example, the paragraph beginning “What is more” moves from human danger to recycling and then to litter without fully connecting these points. The reference in “which creates a pollution and environment affects” is also unclear. Use fewer formulaic linkers and make each paragraph develop one central idea through explicit cause, consequence and example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “pollution,” “recycling centres,” “plastic packaging” and “tote bag.” However, the range is limited and several expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, which makes some points less clear. Examples include “cancerious chemicals,” “impose panalty,” “feed fish in the river with food,” and “a pollution.” Repetition of “plastic,” “environment” and “harm” also limits precision. Aim to learn accurate collocations and use more specific terms for environmental effects, such as wildlife injury, water contamination and non-biodegradable waste. Check spelling and word forms carefully, and replace broad phrases such as “damaging everything” with a precise description of what is affected.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple sentences and more complex forms, including “Not only environment but also humans and animals are affected” and a relative clause describing the discarded bag. However, control is inconsistent, and errors in agreement, articles, verb forms and sentence construction sometimes make the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “the plastic bag … which harm fish” has a subject–verb agreement error, while “the government should have build” uses an incorrect verb form. The sentence “it could be on the road and which creates a pollution and environment affects” is structurally incomplete and difficult to interpret. Practise building accurate complex sentences, especially clauses with “which,” and check articles and singular/plural agreement. Clearer sentence boundaries would also improve readability.

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