In many countries, plastic shopping bags are the main type of rubbish. They cause water and land pollution, so they should be banned. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Sample Response
Plastic shopping bags have become a ubiquitous source of environmental pollution in many nations, significantly contributing to water and land contamination. To save our environment, many suggest a complete ban on plastic shopping bags. It is also my firm belief that detrimental effects warrant a ban on plastic bags all around the world.
The environmental impact of plastic bags is substantial, particularly in terms of water and land pollution. These non-biodegradable bags often find their way into water bodies, posing a severe threat to aquatic life. For instance, marine animals, mistake these bags for food, and ingest them, leading to fatal consequences such as choking or digestive issues. Additionally, when not disposed of properly, plastic bags end up cluttering landfills, where they can take hundreds of years to decompose fully. This accumulation of plastic waste not only contaminates soil but also seeps harmful chemicals, polluting the surrounding environment.
Moreover, the ban on plastic bags would not only mitigate environmental pollution but also encourage the adoption of eco-friendly alternatives. Several countries that have enforced strict regulations or imposed bans on plastic bags have witnessed a surge in the use of reusable bags made from biodegradable materials such as cotton or jute. For example, in countries where plastic bag bans have been implemented, citizens have transitioned to using reusable bags, significantly reducing the volume of plastic waste generated.
In conclusion, given the detrimental consequences of plastic shopping bags on the environment, their prohibition seems imperative. Not only would a ban mitigate the severe pollution caused by these bags, but it would also foster the adoption of more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use precise verb Original: save our environment Suggested revision: protect the environment Why it matters: “Protect the environment” is a more precise and formal collocation.
- 2. Clarify the subject Original: many suggest Suggested revision: many people advocate Why it matters: This wording identifies the people making the proposal and uses a natural verb with “ban.”
- 3. Add possessive determiner Original: that detrimental effects warrant Suggested revision: that their detrimental effects warrant Why it matters: The effects need a determiner linking them explicitly to plastic bags.
- 4. Use concise wording Original: all around the world Suggested revision: worldwide Why it matters: The single adverb expresses the same global scope more concisely.
- 5. Remove subject comma Original: marine animals, Suggested revision: marine animals Why it matters: A comma must not separate the subject from its verb.
- 6. Join the predicates Original: food, and ingest them Suggested revision: food and ingest them Why it matters: No comma is needed between two predicates sharing the same subject.
- 7. Match the examples Original: fatal Suggested revision: serious Why it matters: “Fatal” does not accurately describe every listed consequence, whereas “serious” covers both.
- 8. Use indefinite article Original: the Suggested revision: a Why it matters: No specific enacted ban has been identified at this point, so the indefinite article is appropriate.
- 9. Fix preposition choice Original: on Suggested revision: for Why it matters: The natural collocation is “consequences for” an affected entity.
- 10. Remove redundant wording Original: more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives Suggested revision: more sustainable alternatives Why it matters: “Sustainable” already conveys the environmental benefit in this context.
- 11. Sentence rewrite Original: This accumulation of plastic waste not only contaminates soil but also seeps harmful chemicals, polluting the surrounding environment. Suggested revision: This accumulation of plastic waste not only contaminates the soil but also causes harmful chemicals to seep into the surrounding environment. Why it matters: Plastic waste can cause chemicals to seep, but the accumulation itself cannot grammatically “seep” chemicals.
- 12. Avoid repetitive evidence Suggested revision: Remove the repeated reference to countries with bans and link the reduction in plastic waste directly to the preceding evidence about reusable bags. Why it matters: The final sentence restates the same country-ban setup instead of progressing directly from the evidence to its result.
Suggested Rewrites
- save our environment protect the environment
- many suggest many people advocate
- that detrimental effects warrant that their detrimental effects warrant
- all around the world worldwide
- marine animals, marine animals
- food, and ingest them food and ingest them
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response states a firm position, sustains it throughout, and develops a logical case using environmental consequences and viable alternatives. Its main limitation is that the supporting examples remain somewhat general and the discussion occasionally repeats the same pollution claims. The highest priority is to make the evidence more specific and use it to deepen the causal analysis rather than restating the central argument.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The position is direct and fully maintained, with both environmental harm and the benefits of alternatives developed in relevant detail.
Strengthen the argument further by making the real-world examples more specific and analytically connected to the proposed ban.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through well-focused paragraphs, and cohesive devices guide the reader smoothly with only slight repetition.
Vary the transitions between consequences and solutions so the progression feels even less formulaic.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a wide and precise environmental vocabulary with strong control, despite a few slightly awkward or repetitive choices.
Refine collocations around chemical pollution and replace repeated references to environmental effects with more exact alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex sentence forms are varied and generally accurate, with only isolated punctuation and clause-level slips.
Proofread comma placement and coordination in long sentences to remove the few remaining accuracy lapses.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
In many countries, plastic shopping bags are the main type of rubbish. They cause water and land pollution, so they should be banned. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.