Over-fishing has become a very common practice in many countries. Why is it so? What do you think are the effects of over-fishing?
Sample Response
Fish populations in seas, lakes and rivers are falling sharply all around the world. Many countries had plenty of fish species, but these days, many fish species have become scarcenumbered. This has happened mainly due to over-fishing and water pollution. Overall, this has serious consequencesterrible impacts.
FishFishes, in many parts of the world, are caught before maturityare caught early and they do not get time to grow and reproduce. Without government initiatives and appropriate policiesthe government’s initiatives and proper policy, the situationcondition will deteriorate as the irresponsiblegreedy fishers willwould not spare any fish from their nets. Moreover, pollution has reduced the natural habitats of fish species in rivers, lakes and oceans. As a consequence, marine ecosystems have become imbalancedmarine life has lost its balance to a certain extent, and many fish species are now extinct or on the verge of extinction.
As a direct result of this, many popular fish species have become very expensive and rare. For instance, Hilsha, the national fish of Bangladesh, is highly expensive and hard to find. This has a negative economic impact as the country used to export this fish to many Western countries. Besides, due to the excessiveexhaustive and indiscriminateindiscriminating fishing, many rivers, lakes and canals are devoidvoid of fish and more fishermen are finding it hard to earn a living from fishinghard to live by fishing. Many governments have already taken steps by declaring many rivers, sea areas and canals restricted and prohibiting commercial fishingmarking commercial fishing prohibited duringin certain seasons, and this is making the livelihood of many fishermen even harder.
In conclusion, overfishing must be stopped now, and the government must take actiondecide to bring changes to save fish species. Besides, people who depend on fishingthe population who live by fishing must also fish responsiblycatch fish prudently and always spare the juvenile and breeding fishnewborn and mother fish for their own benefit. Without imposing strict laws to stop uncontrolled fishing, while also investing money in improving the natural habitats of fish, we will bear great losses.
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response is strongest when explaining the consequences of depleted fish stocks, using a relevant national example and clear economic links. Its main limitation is that the causes of overfishing are only partly developed, while water pollution is treated as a cause of fish decline rather than explaining why excessive fishing occurs. Prioritise a fuller causal analysis of demand, commercial incentives, regulation, and fishing technology.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both questions are addressed, and the effects are well supported, but the explanation of why overfishing is common remains narrow and partly conflated with pollution.
Develop two distinct causes of excessive fishing with clear causal chains before moving to its environmental and economic effects.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response progresses logically through causes, consequences, and a conclusion, with clear paragraphing and generally effective linking.
Keep each paragraph more tightly aligned with one task question and avoid introducing an extended solutions focus in the conclusion.
Lexical Resource
A sufficiently broad vocabulary communicates ecological and economic ideas precisely, although several word choices and collocations are awkward.
Replace unnatural phrases such as species becoming numbered and indiscriminating fishing with accurate, idiomatic environmental vocabulary.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of complex structures is used successfully, but recurring article, noun-form, and clause-control errors reduce grammatical precision.
Proofread plural and uncountable nouns, articles, and long coordinated sentences so complex ideas remain consistently accurate.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Over-fishing has become a very common practice in many countries. Why is it so? What do you think are the effects of over-fishing?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.