Environmental problems are becoming a global issue, and therefore, some people suggest that environmental problems should be solved on a global scale. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
Some environmental problems are regional, like cyclones; and some others are global, greenhouse effects, for instance. With the span of time, many environmental problems are becoming global issues. Some people thus advocate for global initiatives to tackle those environmental issues. I agree with this view as I believe that global initiatives will bring the best result in this scenario, and it will also make the world a better place to live in.
To begin with, environmental problems are generally caused by human activities and most of them are global concerns. Air or water pollution at a time remains a national problem but after a certain period, it would turn into a problem for the whole world. Thus if some environmental problems are left unaddressed due to their span in a country, they would soon become a problem for all nations. This is why those problems should be addressed globally.
Moreover, not all nations are equally competent to address issues of such magnitude due to their economic and political reasons. This is why affluent nations should extend their helping hands to solve environmental problems in such poor nations. There is no denying that industrial nations cause more global warming. So they need to build a common platform to bring all nations together to fight environmental problems. For a poor country, it is quite tough to allocate a budget to tackle environmental issues while millions of its population are suffering from hunger and natural disasters. This is why rich nations have natural obligations to help those poor or developing nations.
To draw the conclusion, global environmental problems like greenhouse effects, global warming etc. have already become a concern for every nation. A global effort to address these problems would be a better strategy as each nation is not equally adept at solving global problems.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use idiomatic phrase Original: With the span of time Suggested revision: Over time Why it matters: The replacement is the idiomatic way to describe gradual change.
- 2. Use plural noun Original: result Suggested revision: results Why it matters: Multiple global initiatives would collectively produce results in this general claim.
- 3. Fix pronoun agreement Original: it Suggested revision: they Why it matters: The plural pronoun correctly refers back to global initiatives.
- 4. Clarify the reason Original: due to their span in a country Suggested revision: because they occur within one country Why it matters: The replacement states the intended geographical limitation clearly and naturally.
- 5. Fix causal phrasing Original: due to their economic and political reasons Suggested revision: because of economic and political constraints Why it matters: Constraints accurately describes factors that limit a nation's capacity.
- 6. Avoid awkward idiom Original: extend their helping hands Suggested revision: offer help Why it matters: The concise replacement is natural in formal writing.
- 7. Use precise collocation Original: cause more global warming Suggested revision: contribute more to global warming Why it matters: Contribute to is the appropriate collocation for describing a share of causation.
- 8. Use countable reference Original: population Suggested revision: people Why it matters: People can be counted directly, whereas population is normally treated as a collective noun here.
- 9. Use correct form Original: like greenhouse effects Suggested revision: like the greenhouse effect Why it matters: This established environmental term normally takes the definite article and singular form.
- 10. Use precise context Original: scenario Suggested revision: context Why it matters: Context is the more natural term for referring to the situation under discussion.
- 11. Punctuate transition Original: Thus if Suggested revision: Thus, if Why it matters: The introductory conjunctive adverb should be followed by a comma.
- 12. Use natural collocation Original: equally competent to address Suggested revision: equally capable of addressing Why it matters: Capable of addressing is the more idiomatic expression of national capacity.
Suggested Rewrites
- With the span of time Over time
- result results
- it they
- due to their span in a country because they occur within one country
- due to their economic and political reasons because of economic and political constraints
- extend their helping hands offer help
Why this response received Band 7.0
The essay maintains a clear position and develops two relevant reasons for international action, especially the unequal capacity of rich and poor countries. Its main weakness is imprecise reasoning and wording in places, including broad claims about local pollution inevitably becoming global and several awkward collocations. The response would improve most by supporting each causal claim with a concrete example and expressing it in more exact academic language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response directly answers the question, sustains agreement, and develops relevant arguments about cross-border effects and unequal national resources.
Make the first argument more convincing by explaining a specific mechanism through which a national environmental problem becomes international.
Coherence and Cohesion
The four-paragraph structure is logical and the argument progresses clearly, though some linking phrases are repeated mechanically.
Use more varied referencing and transitions instead of repeatedly relying on 'This is why'.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is sufficiently varied for the topic, but recurrent collocational inaccuracies such as 'with the span of time' and 'natural obligations' reduce precision.
Prioritise accurate collocations when discussing responsibility, capacity, and environmental impacts.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The essay uses a good range of complex sentences with mostly clear and accurate control despite occasional agreement and conditional-form slips.
Check agreement and tense consistency in hypothetical statements and sentences with collective or quantified subjects.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Environmental problems are becoming a global issue, and therefore, some people suggest that environmental problems should be solved on a global scale. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.