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?
Sample Response
Plastic products are affordable, versatile and durable, but they are a threat to our environment. They pollute soil and water, endanger animals and act as a breeding ground for deadly insects. Governments and the general publicThe authorities and general people can take numerous measures to reduce the scale of the problemcurb the problem and its magnitude.
Plastics can severely harm our environment. The accumulation of plastic litterThe littering of plastics creates unsanitary conditions in many placesa rather unhygienic condition here and there. These unsanitary conditions then become breeding grounds for harmful insectsthe breeding ground for harmful insects and mosquitoes, causing diseases like malaria and dengue. According to the United Nations Environmental Programme, we produce nearly 400 million tons of plastic waste each year. Such a large volume of plastic waste can harm our environment Deleteto a large extent, especially whenespecially, when these plastic products take decades or even centuriestake from decades to centuries to decompose. They seriously degrade soil fertility andor quality, meaning plants or trees are unable to grow wellcan not grow well in such soilon those soils. Moreover, plastic items can seriously pollute water bodies toowater bodies too, by changing their chemical propertiestheir original chemical property, because they can easily findsince they easily can find their way into the rivers and oceans. When that happensAnd when that happens, it poses a grave threat to fish and other marine lifelives. There have been instances where some large endangered species of tortoises were found to be suffocating after mistakenly swallowingbecause of mistakenly swallowing plastic bags that were attached to seaweed.
To limit these environmental damagedamages, governments and individuals around the worldgovernments and individuals, around the world, can take some effective initiatives. People can recycle some of the plastic products they use, and reduce their reliance on plastics. For instance, many people use glass-made bottles to carry water rather than using single-use plastic water bottlesone-time-use plastic water bottles. But it definitely should be the governments that need to do the heavy lifting, in this case, to protect our environment from plastic waste by enacting different kinds of rules and regulations wherever deem appropriate and also continually running awareness programmes. For example, South Africa has restricted the manufacture and usage of plastic bags by enacting parliamentary legislation. Besides, governments can also offer tax incentives for those individuals or companies who do not use plastic products.
In conclusion, plastic is an imminent threat to our world, and if we - both the government and individuals - work hand in hand, then the chances are one day, we would be able to see a world where plastic is not a problem anymore.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response is strongest in its comprehensive task coverage: it explains several forms of environmental damage and proposes distinct actions for individuals and governments, supported by examples. Its main limitation is recurring awkwardness in collocation and sentence construction, which occasionally makes otherwise clear points sound imprecise. The highest-priority improvement is to edit complex sentences for idiomatic phrasing, agreement, and cleaner clause structure.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both questions are fully addressed with relevant, extended discussion of environmental harms and feasible responses by both responsible groups.
Make the causal explanation of how plastics alter soil and water quality more precise rather than relying on broad assertions.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response is logically organised, and the progression from damage to solutions is clear and easy to follow.
Reduce occasional overextended sentences so that individual claims and examples connect more cleanly.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and topic-appropriate, but several awkward collocations reduce precision and naturalness.
Replace phrases such as glass-made bottles, marine lives, and environmental damages with more idiomatic alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A good range of complex structures is evident, although recurring errors in agreement, clause formation, and word order remain noticeable.
Proofread subordinate clauses and conditional structures, especially forms such as wherever deemed appropriate and if...will constructions.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
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?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.