The increase in the production of consumer goods results in damage to the natural environment. What are the causes of this? What can be done to solve this problem?
Sample Response
There have been increasing concerns over the negative effects of the growth in consumer goods production onto the environment. While this problem can be attributed to a number of causes, several solutions can be implementedmany solutions can be proposed to alleviate the adverse impacts.
To start with, the increase in consumer goods production has two key causesstems from two key reasons. First, it is accelerated by the spread of consumerism. Businesses benefit from this trendare fond of this trend as it can help them generate substantial profitsgenerate a fortune. However, what consumer culturethe buying culture actually causes is people’s growing demandintensifying demands for innovationsnew innovations and reduced appreciation of their existing possessionsdepreciation of their existing assets. Consequently, products which are still usable are discarded rather than recycled, increasing the volume of wasteincreasing the amount of trash. Moreover, people’s lack of awareness ofon the impacts of contemporary products onto nature is another major cause. Some clueless consumers are over-optimistic, thinking that the clothing item they just dumped will be reused, without thinking about the underlying costs such as energy and harmful fuels coming from the recycling process or the production of their new garments.
Nevertheless, effective measures can be taken to minimize consumer goods’ adverse effects on the environment. First, businesses should opt for environmentally friendly materialsenvironmentally-friendly materials. This is both fashionable for the company as educated buyers nowadays prefer eco-friendly products made from natural materials like bamboo, and help the business to reduce their carbon footprint. Furthermore, an extra tax could be levied on companies which use fossil fuels, and a monetary incentive could be provided for businesses to switch to renewable energy sources. For example, Lego has announced that their first carbon neutral plant will be constructed in Vietnam. Among its other attractionsAside from other appeals, the Vietnamese government strongly supports renewable energy developmenthas strong support for renewable energy development, with generous economic incentives like tax exemptions.
By and large, consumerism and people’s lack of awareness are the root causes of the growthacceleration in consumer goods production. However, steps can be taken to alleviate the impacts, such as using eco-friendly materials and introducing incentives for green production processes.
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response is strongest in its clear cause-and-solution structure, with relevant discussion of consumerism, disposable buying habits, greener materials, and fiscal incentives. Its main limitation is that several causal links and examples are only partly convincing or imprecisely expressed, especially the recycling discussion and Lego example; the highest priority is to explain each cause-to-damage and measure-to-outcome chain more directly and precisely.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response addresses both causes and solutions with relevant, generally developed ideas, although some causal links and supporting examples are not fully convincing.
Make each cause's environmental consequence explicit and select examples that directly demonstrate how the proposed measure reduces production-related damage.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through a clear introduction, causes paragraph, solutions paragraph, and conclusion, with generally effective cohesive devices.
Strengthen connections within the causes paragraph so the discussion moves more explicitly from consumer behaviour to increased production and environmental harm.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and topic-appropriate, but several collocations and word choices, including references to depreciation, fashionable practices, and harmful fuels, lack precision.
Prioritise natural, exact collocations and neutral academic wording over sophisticated expressions whose meaning or tone is slightly unsuitable.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A good range of complex structures is used with generally strong control, though occasional agreement and sentence-construction errors remain noticeable.
Check coordination and subject-verb agreement in longer sentences, particularly structures combining both, and, relative clauses, and infinitive phrases.
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS Writing Task 2
The increase in the production of consumer goods results in damage to the natural environment. What are the causes of this? What can be done to solve this problem?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.