In many countries, plastic containers have become more common than ever and are used by many food and drink companies. Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
Sample Response
Using plastic containers for various food products has become ubiquitous in recent decades. Though this has potential drawbacks for the environment, I believe it does not outweigh the benefits to businesses and individuals.
The environmental cost of disposable plastic containers is massive. Before plastics, foods and drinks were typically put into biodegradable, eco-friendly paper or cardboard. The arrival of plastics has impacted the environment on two major fronts. Firstly, plastic itself is a fossil fuel byproduct that requires crude oil for its production and later transportation. The emissions from fossil fuels are often cited as the chief contributor to the hastening of climate change. Moreover, the containers themselves either find their ways to landfills, polluting previously pristine land, or end up in the ocean, forming ‘land masses’ that are injurious to marine life.
Nonetheless, the concomitant problems of plastic containers listed above do not override their usefulness. For companies, using plastic containers is cheap and allows for uniform consistency. This is the reason why they have been adopted by companies ranging from fast food giants like McDonald’s to local grocery chains. This savings is then passed on to the consumer who enjoys cheaper prices and the many conveniences of plastic containers. They are less likely to rip open and spill compared with paper and most families make use of them afterwards for leftover food. If plastic containers for food items were banned not only would people lose these conveniences but many companies would have to radically alter their packaging, and potentially, products themselves.
In conclusion, the environmental impact of plastic containers does little to undermine their value for both corporations and the average customer. It is instead important to explore innovations to make plastics more environmentally friendly.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use packaging vocabulary Original: put into biodegradable, eco-friendly paper or cardboard Suggested revision: packaged in biodegradable, eco-friendly paper or cardboard Why it matters: “Packaged in” is more precise and natural for food and drink containers.
- 2. Clarify the cause Original: arrival of plastics Suggested revision: widespread use of plastics Why it matters: This phrase identifies the relevant environmental cause more accurately than “arrival.”
- 3. Use formal wording Original: hastening Suggested revision: acceleration Why it matters: “Acceleration” is a more natural formal noun in this context.
- 4. Fix the expression Original: ways Suggested revision: way Why it matters: The fixed expression is “find their way,” even when its subject is plural.
- 5. Use an accurate term Original: ‘land masses’ Suggested revision: large accumulations Why it matters: This describes gathered ocean plastic more clearly and avoids a misleading geographical term.
- 6. Remove redundancy Original: uniform consistency Suggested revision: consistent packaging Why it matters: “Uniform” and “consistency” duplicate the same idea, while the revision names what is consistent.
- 7. Fix determiner agreement Original: This Suggested revision: These Why it matters: The plural noun “savings” requires the plural determiner “these.”
- 8. Avoid awkward plurality Original: the many conveniences of plastic containers Suggested revision: the convenience of plastic containers Why it matters: The uncountable singular “convenience” is more natural for the general benefit described.
- 9. Complete the comparison Original: rip open and spill compared with paper Suggested revision: rip or spill than paper containers Why it matters: A comparative structure with “less likely” requires “than” and a comparable noun phrase.
- 10. State the use directly Original: make use of them afterwards for leftover food Suggested revision: reuse them to store leftovers Why it matters: The revision is more concise and makes the later household use explicit.
- 11. Add the clause comma Original: were banned not only Suggested revision: were banned, not only Why it matters: A comma should separate the introductory conditional clause from the main clause.
- 12. Sentence rewrite Original: Though this has potential drawbacks for the environment, I believe it does not outweigh the benefits to businesses and individuals. Suggested revision: Though plastic packaging has potential drawbacks for the environment, I believe these drawbacks do not outweigh the benefits to businesses and individuals. Why it matters: The rewrite replaces unclear singular pronouns with explicit references and restores number agreement.
Suggested Rewrites
- put into biodegradable, eco-friendly paper or cardboard packaged in biodegradable, eco-friendly paper or cardboard
- arrival of plastics widespread use of plastics
- hastening acceleration
- ways way
- ‘land masses’ large accumulations
- uniform consistency consistent packaging
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response gives a direct comparative judgement and develops both environmental costs and practical benefits with specific, logically sequenced support. Its principal weakness is occasional imprecision in reference and wording, including the ambiguous singular pronoun in the thesis and a few awkward collocations; tightening these expressions and making the weighing of the two sides even more explicit would improve an already persuasive argument.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The question is fully addressed through a clear position and well-developed consideration of both disadvantages and advantages.
Make the final comparison more explicit by directly explaining why the practical benefits carry greater weight than the environmental costs.
Coherence and Cohesion
The essay is well organised, and ideas develop smoothly within a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and conclusion.
Tighten a few long sentences so that each causal step and comparison is immediately clear.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and precise, with effective topic-specific choices such as biodegradable, byproduct, emissions, and marine life.
Replace occasional awkward or redundant combinations, such as uniform consistency and find their ways, with more natural phrasing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentence forms are handled with strong control, and only occasional minor agreement or reference errors appear.
Check pronoun reference and agreement carefully, particularly when referring back to plural drawbacks or savings.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
In many countries, plastic containers have become more common than ever and are used by many food and drink companies. Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.