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
Environmental problems greatly vary in terms of their magnitudes, and some of these are local, while others are global - the greenhouse effect or global warming for example. For the best outcome, these sorts of problems should be addressed at the most appropriate levels, sometimes even at multiple levels.
To begin with, some environmental problems are generally caused by a group of people in a particular region and these issues get accelerated by the rapid expansion of industrialisation in this region. These sorts of problems often include noise pollution, air pollution, deforestation, intoxicating waste disposal etc. and these are generally national in nature. It is better to address these types of environmental problems at the national level and educating people is a viable solution in this scenario. International aid sometimes can help a poor or developing country to address environmental problems but the government of the country should take initiatives to solve such national problems.
Having said that, some environmental problems, for instance, common river, coastline or sea pollution concern more than one country and those sorts of problems should be addressed at a bilateral level. Similarly, if an environmental problem concerns a large region, for instance, a continent, that should be discussed and fought by the countries that are located on this continent. Some common examples of such environmental problems are desertification, soil erosion, aridness and floods.
Finally, some environmental problems pervade across national boundaries and call for multinational or global collaboration. For example, radioactive industrial wastage in oceans, ozone layer degradation, and global warming are global issues, and these types of problems should be addressed by every single nation in the world. For greater success and effectiveness, I believe that the commitment of countries, especially rich nations, is quite important.
To conclude, environmental problems are real and they threaten the very existence of animals, plants and humans on this planet. We need to address them immediately on regional, national and global scales based on their magnitudes and nature.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Punctuate the example Original: global - the greenhouse effect or global warming for example Suggested revision: global—for example, the greenhouse effect or global warming Why it matters: An em dash and introductory comma clearly set off the examples.
- 2. Use precise collocation Original: issues get accelerated Suggested revision: issues are exacerbated Why it matters: Problems are “exacerbated,” whereas “accelerated” normally describes speed.
- 3. Use correct adjective Original: intoxicating Suggested revision: toxic Why it matters: “Toxic” describes poisonous waste, while “intoxicating” describes something that causes excitement or drunkenness.
- 4. Place adverb naturally Original: International aid sometimes can help Suggested revision: International aid can sometimes help Why it matters: The frequency adverb normally follows the modal verb “can.”
- 5. Use direct collocation Original: initiatives Suggested revision: steps Why it matters: “Take steps” is the natural concise expression for acting on the problems.
- 6. Repair noun phrase Original: common river, coastline or sea pollution concern Suggested revision: pollution of shared rivers, coastlines, or seas concerns Why it matters: The revised structure clearly identifies pollution affecting resources shared by countries.
- 7. Use suitable action verb Original: fought Suggested revision: tackled Why it matters: Countries tackle an environmental problem rather than “fight” the problem itself.
- 8. Use standard noun Original: aridness Suggested revision: aridity Why it matters: “Aridity” is the standard formal term for an extremely dry condition.
- 9. Remove redundant phrasing Original: pervade across national boundaries Suggested revision: cross national boundaries Why it matters: “Pervade” already implies spreading through something and does not take “across” here.
- 10. Name discarded material Original: wastage Suggested revision: waste Why it matters: “Waste” denotes discarded material, whereas “wastage” denotes the act or amount of wasting.
- 11. Remove unnecessary emphasis Original: every single nation Suggested revision: every nation Why it matters: “Single” adds emphasis without changing the inclusive meaning.
- 12. Use natural source phrase Original: the commitment of countries Suggested revision: commitment from countries Why it matters: “From” naturally identifies the countries that must provide the commitment.
Suggested Rewrites
- global - the greenhouse effect or global warming for example global—for example, the greenhouse effect or global warming
- issues get accelerated issues are exacerbated
- intoxicating toxic
- International aid sometimes can help International aid can sometimes help
- initiatives steps
- common river, coastline or sea pollution concern pollution of shared rivers, coastlines, or seas concerns
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response’s strongest feature is its clear, nuanced position that environmental action should match the geographical scale of each problem, supported by a logical progression from national to global cases. Its main limitation is occasional imprecise or awkward wording, while some examples remain broadly asserted rather than closely explained. The highest-priority improvement is to sharpen collocations and develop the causal relevance of selected examples more precisely.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response fully addresses the proposition with a clear qualified position and relevant, well-developed discussion of action at different geographical levels.
Explain the causal significance of a few examples in greater depth instead of relying mainly on lists of environmental problems.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through national, bilateral, regional, and global responses, with effective paragraphing and clear cohesive links.
Reduce minor repetition of phrases such as environmental problems and these types by using tighter referencing where the meaning remains unmistakable.
Lexical Resource
A wide range of topic-specific vocabulary conveys precise distinctions, though several collocations such as intoxicating waste disposal and common river are unnatural.
Prioritise idiomatic collocations, for example toxic-waste disposal and shared-river pollution, while retaining the existing lexical range.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses a broad range of complex structures with strong control, despite a few awkward constructions and minor agreement or punctuation lapses.
Check agreement and clause structure in long example sentences so that plural subjects and their referents remain consistently controlled.
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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.