Plastic bags, plastic bottles and plastic packaging are bad for the environment. What damage does plastic do to the environment? What can be done by governments and individuals to solve this problem?
Sample Response
Plastic products are affordable, versatile and durable, but they are a threat to our environment. They pollute soil and water, endanger animals and act as a breeding ground for deadly insects. The authorities and general people can take numerous measures to curb the problem and its magnitude.
Plastics can severely harm our environment. The littering of plastics creates a rather unhygienic condition here and there. These unsanitary conditions then become the breeding ground for harmful insects and mosquitoes, causing diseases like malaria and dengue. According to the United Nations Environmental Programme, we produce nearly 400 million tons of plastic waste each year. Such a large volume of plastic waste can harm our environment to a large extent, especially, when these plastic products take from decades to centuries to decompose. They seriously degrade soil fertility or quality, meaning plants or trees can not grow well on those soils. Moreover, plastic items can seriously pollute water bodies too, by changing their original chemical property, since they easily can find their way into the rivers and oceans. And when that happens, it poses a grave threat to fish and other marine lives. There have been instances where some large endangered species of tortoises were found to be suffocating because of mistakenly swallowing plastic bags that were attached to seaweed.
To limit these environmental damages, governments and individuals, around the world, can take some effective initiatives. People can recycle some of the plastic products they use, and reduce their reliance on plastics. For instance, many people use glass-made bottles to carry water rather than using one-time-use plastic water bottles. But it definitely should be the governments that need to do the heavy lifting, in this case, to protect our environment from plastic waste by enacting different kinds of rules and regulations wherever deem appropriate and also continually running awareness programmes. For example, South Africa has restricted the manufacture and usage of plastic bags by enacting parliamentary legislation. Besides, governments can also offer tax incentives for those individuals or companies who do not use plastic products.
In conclusion, plastic is an imminent threat to our world, and if we - both the government and individuals - work hand in hand, then the chances are one day, we would be able to see a world where plastic is not a problem anymore.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use the standard term Original: The authorities and general people Suggested revision: Governments and the general public Why it matters: 'General people' is not an idiomatic term for ordinary members of society.
- 2. Remove the faulty pairing Original: curb the problem and its magnitude Suggested revision: reduce the scale of the problem Why it matters: A problem's magnitude can be reduced, but it cannot logically be curbed separately from the problem itself.
- 3. Use precise terminology Original: The littering of plastics Suggested revision: The accumulation of plastic litter Why it matters: This phrase identifies the environmental condition more precisely and naturally.
- 4. Replace vague wording Original: a rather unhygienic condition here and there Suggested revision: unsanitary conditions in many places Why it matters: 'Here and there' is too vague, and the plural noun better matches dispersed litter.
- 5. Match the plural subject Original: the breeding ground for harmful insects Suggested revision: breeding grounds for harmful insects Why it matters: The plural subject 'conditions' requires the plural complement 'breeding grounds'.
- 6. Remove redundant wording Original: to a large extent Suggested revision: Delete Why it matters: The preceding phrase 'Such a large volume' already conveys the scale of the harm.
- 7. Remove the incorrect comma Original: especially, when Suggested revision: especially when Why it matters: No comma should separate 'especially' from the clause it modifies.
- 8. Correct the time range Original: take from decades to centuries Suggested revision: take decades or even centuries Why it matters: The verb 'take' does not use 'from' before this kind of duration range.
- 9. State the combined effect Original: or Suggested revision: and Why it matters: The sentence presents both properties as being degraded, so 'and' expresses the relationship clearly.
- 10. Improve the verb phrase Original: can not grow well Suggested revision: are unable to grow well Why it matters: The replacement corrects the split negative modal while retaining the original meaning.
- 11. Use the natural collocation Original: on those soils Suggested revision: in such soil Why it matters: Plants grow 'in' soil, and uncountable 'soil' is more natural in this general statement.
- 12. Remove the stray comma Original: water bodies too, Suggested revision: water bodies too Why it matters: The comma incorrectly separates the verb phrase from the following modifier.
Suggested Rewrites
- The authorities and general people Governments and the general public
- curb the problem and its magnitude reduce the scale of the problem
- The littering of plastics The accumulation of plastic litter
- a rather unhygienic condition here and there unsanitary conditions in many places
- the breeding ground for harmful insects breeding grounds for harmful insects
- to a large extent Delete
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response is strongest in its comprehensive task coverage: it explains several forms of environmental damage and proposes distinct actions for individuals and governments, supported by examples. Its main limitation is recurring awkwardness in collocation and sentence construction, which occasionally makes otherwise clear points sound imprecise. The highest-priority improvement is to edit complex sentences for idiomatic phrasing, agreement, and cleaner clause structure.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both questions are fully addressed with relevant, extended discussion of environmental harms and feasible responses by both responsible groups.
Make the causal explanation of how plastics alter soil and water quality more precise rather than relying on broad assertions.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response is logically organised, and the progression from damage to solutions is clear and easy to follow.
Reduce occasional overextended sentences so that individual claims and examples connect more cleanly.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and topic-appropriate, but several awkward collocations reduce precision and naturalness.
Replace phrases such as glass-made bottles, marine lives, and environmental damages with more idiomatic alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A good range of complex structures is evident, although recurring errors in agreement, clause formation, and word order remain noticeable.
Proofread subordinate clauses and conditional structures, especially forms such as wherever deemed appropriate and if...will constructions.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Plastic bags, plastic bottles and plastic packaging are bad for the environment. What damage does plastic do to the environment? What can be done by governments and individuals to solve this problem?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.