Today single-use products are still very common. What are the problems associated with this? What are some possible solutions?
Sample Response
In today’s modern society, single-use products are still a common sight. Although they carry with them many problems, both in terms of seriousness and variety, both businesses and governments can take actions to eliminate them.
Because most disposable products derive from plastic, they pose a considerable threat. Firstly, the production of these products will eventually lead to a depletion of natural resources. The majority of plastics are now made from natural gas or compounds related to the oil industry, which are both materials that are becoming more scarce. Secondly, the mass disposal of single-used products leads to an accumulation of waste and a pollution problem. Because plastic products are non-biodegradable, when disposed to the oceans, marine animals, like fish, can swallow them and die. Plastics can also cause soil and underground water contamination through leaking microbeads to these environments.
Luckily, these harmful effects can be prevented by efforts made by both governments and businesses. Firstly, enterprises that consume lots of single-use products, like restaurants or supermarkets, can promote behaviors that reduce this usage. For example, some supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City are now charging extra when customers do not bring their shopping bags. Some coffee shops and restaurants can also give out reward points when customers use their own bottles or utensils. Secondly, governments can take steps to entirely ban the use of single-use products. For example, they can start by taxing heavily on these items. Other effective actions include placing a fine when people excessively use these types of products.
In conclusion, the excessive use of single-use products has many adverse effects on the environment, both in terms of resource depletion and pollution. However, there are measures that both businesses and governments can take to reduce these adverse effects.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Remove redundancy Original: today’s modern society Suggested revision: today’s society Why it matters: ‘Today’s’ already expresses the modern time frame.
- 2. Use direct collocation Original: carry with them many problems Suggested revision: cause many problems Why it matters: Products ‘cause’ problems more naturally than ‘carry’ them.
- 3. Use uncountable noun Original: actions Suggested revision: action Why it matters: The fixed expression uses the uncountable form ‘action.’
- 4. Correct material phrase Original: derive from plastic Suggested revision: are made from plastic Why it matters: ‘Are made from’ correctly describes the material used to produce the products.
- 5. Use comparative form Original: more scarce Suggested revision: scarcer Why it matters: The standard comparative form of ‘scarce’ is ‘scarcer.’
- 6. Make wording concise Original: an accumulation of waste and a pollution problem Suggested revision: waste accumulation and pollution Why it matters: The revision states the two environmental problems more concisely and in parallel form.
- 7. Use precise term Original: underground water Suggested revision: groundwater Why it matters: ‘Groundwater’ is the standard term for water beneath the ground.
- 8. Correct verb pattern Original: through leaking microbeads to these environments Suggested revision: by releasing microbeads into these environments Why it matters: The revised prepositions and verb correctly express how contamination occurs.
- 9. Remove incorrect preposition Original: taxing heavily on these items Suggested revision: taxing these items heavily Why it matters: The verb ‘tax’ takes the taxed object directly without ‘on.’
- 10. Correct fine collocation Original: placing a fine when people excessively use these types of products Suggested revision: imposing fines on people who excessively use these types of products Why it matters: Fines are ‘imposed on’ people, making the relationship grammatically clear.
- 11. Clarify problem range Original: both in terms of seriousness and variety Suggested revision: which vary in severity and type Why it matters: The revision describes the range of problems more naturally and precisely.
- 12. Use concise verb Original: will eventually lead to a depletion of natural resources Suggested revision: could eventually deplete natural resources Why it matters: The direct verb removes unnecessary nominalisation and appropriately avoids certainty.
Suggested Rewrites
- today’s modern society today’s society
- carry with them many problems cause many problems
- actions action
- derive from plastic are made from plastic
- more scarce scarcer
- an accumulation of waste and a pollution problem waste accumulation and pollution
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response answers both questions directly and supports its environmental problems and proposed remedies with relevant explanations and concrete examples. Its main limitation is uneven precision in several solution claims and expressions, particularly the vague proposal to fine excessive use; the highest-priority improvement is to explain how each policy would operate and use more natural verb-preposition combinations when describing disposal, taxation, and penalties.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The problems and solutions are both addressed in depth with relevant reasoning and examples, despite a few proposals being somewhat vague in their operation.
Specify who would be fined, what conduct would trigger the penalty, and how that measure would reduce single-use consumption.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress clearly through a well-controlled problem-and-solution structure, although repeated sequencing markers make parts of the organisation slightly mechanical.
Use topic-led transitions and logical connections between ideas instead of relying repeatedly on firstly and secondly.
Lexical Resource
The response shows good range and topic-specific vocabulary, but recurring awkward collocations reduce precision in phrases about disposal, contamination, taxation, and fines.
Practise natural combinations such as disposed of in the ocean, impose a tax on items, and fine people for excessive use.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A variety of complex sentences is generally controlled well, with occasional faulty reductions, prepositions, and duplicated structures that remain non-impeding.
Review participial clauses and verb complementation, particularly structures beginning with when disposed and verbs followed by tax or fine.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Today single-use products are still very common. What are the problems associated with this? What are some possible solutions?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.