Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)

In recent era, human being is majorly surrounded by non- biodegradable products.It is a fact that usage of non-biodegradable products is immensely hamrful for the environment and has alot of adverse effetcs. There are several devestating effects of utilising plastic. However, a few remedies. However, recently a few remedies could be offered to resolve the situation on large extent. Both the cause and solutions will be discussed in following paragraphs.

The primary effects of plastic usage, it increases pollution. As plastic is used in several day to day life products, managing the waste of it is getting difficult and that cannot be degraded either. For example, as plastic cannot be directly disposable sometimes people choose to egnite it which adds up to the green house gases. In addition, it has adverse effects on marine life. Alot of people dump their plastic garbage to the water bodies, in results aquetic biosystem i

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response3.5
Coherence and Cohesion4.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall4.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

The response identifies relevant environmental damage, including pollution from plastic waste and harm to marine life, and gives a potentially useful example of people burning plastic. However, it addresses only the first part of the task: the discussion of damage is brief and the response ends mid-sentence at “aquetic biosystem i”. More importantly, it does not explain what governments or individuals could do, so a major part of the question is unanswered. The introduction promises that “causes and solutions will be discussed,” but no solutions follow. The response is also 99 words below the required minimum, leaving too little space to develop the ideas. To improve, complete the essay and explain specific measures, such as restrictions on single-use plastics, better recycling systems, and individual reuse.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is an attempt to organise the response with an introduction followed by a paragraph about environmental effects, and phrases such as “For example” and “In addition” signal supporting points. However, progression is limited: the introduction repeats the idea of remedies (“However, a few remedies. However, recently…”) without developing it, and the body paragraph stops abruptly. The final phrase, “aquetic biosystem i”, makes the ending incomplete and leaves the relationship between the marine-life point and the rest of the essay unclear. Some linking is therefore mechanical or incomplete rather than guiding the reader through a finished argument. Use a clear paragraph for each task part, connect each example directly to its point, and provide a conclusion that summarises the proposed responses.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response attempts a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “non-biodegradable,” “adverse effects,” “marine life,” and “green house gases.” These choices show an effort to use language beyond basic terms, and the general subject is usually recognisable. However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, including “hamrful,” “alot,” “devestating,” “egnite,” and “aquetic.” Some expressions are also unnatural or imprecise: “human being is majorly surrounded by” and “resolve the situation on large extent” do not communicate the ideas fluently. Aim for accurate, natural collocations and check spelling carefully. For example, describe plastic as “widely used in everyday products” and say that burning it “releases greenhouse gases.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts both simple and more complex structures, including a reason clause beginning “As plastic is used…” and a relative clause in “plastic cannot be directly disposable sometimes people choose…”. However, control is inconsistent, and several sentences are incomplete or difficult to follow. “However, a few remedies” is a fragment, while “The primary effects of plastic usage, it increases pollution” lacks a clear grammatical connection between its opening phrase and main clause. The sentence about plastic being “directly disposable” also needs clearer structure and punctuation. The response ends with an unfinished clause, which prevents the final idea from being grammatically complete. Practise writing complete subject–verb sentences, and check clause boundaries, articles, and punctuation when combining ideas.

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