This post on IELTS Speaking Part 2; or topic card focuses on how to answer a problem related to the environment. The title of the cue card is “A Problem that Affects the Environment in your area”. As the environment is a common topic of IELTS Speaking, this topic card looks quite a common one. The model answer provided here is a very good example and there is a short feedback on the answer too. This will help the candidates of IELTS to have a clear view of the answer and analyze it.

Model answer:

Thanks a lot for the cue card that you’ve just provided. There are some major problems in my area that the authority need to address but for this topic card, I’d like to discuss the crisis of pure drinking water that we have where I live. We live in one of the hottest provinces in our country and getting pure drinking water is a major challenge here. This is a massive problem for the environment, as water is absolutely necessary for humans and animals alike and the crisis looks extremely terrible here.

There are a number of big reasons behind this crisis in the area where we live. Firstly, our area is one of the poorest and most deprived areas of our country, so, it does not get much attention from the concerned authority. We need a lot of wells, artificial reservoirs, and tube wells from where local people can easily collect pure water for drinking and washing kitchen utensils. Moreover, desertification and rapid industrialization around this area are causing this problem seriously. As people in this area are poor and deprived, they are cutting down trees for fuel and furniture.

At the same time, some rich people in this area took advantage of the location and established soap and plastic industries around it. As a result, nearly all the major pure water sources have been damaged by dirty water, waste, and garbage from those industries. I still remember that there were two big lakes in my area when I was a kid, but now there is no trace of them. People used those lakes to dump garbage and they became landfills. Overall, people here are uneducated and unconscious about how to protect the water sources or build new and sustainable water sources.

There have been some demonstrations and processions against this problem and unplanned industrialization in the area by some NGOs and the local youth clubs. However, every single campaign went in vain because of corrupted people who became slaves to monetary benefits provided directly and indirectly by the local industry owners.

I believe the best way to solve this problem is to make people aware of the problem by educating them. We need experts and skilled trainers who can easily teach the locals about the bad effects of industrialization and desertification in the area and how they contribute to the pure water crisis. In addition, the authorities should set up deep tube wells and make at least three or four artificial reservoirs in the extremely significant locations of the area so that both humans and animals get easy access to pure water. Authority should also teach the locals about how to protect the water sources and make them more sustainable. For example, we can start tree plantation programs as trees help to change the environment quickly. Thus, this great problem can be easily solved.

(475 words)

FEEDBACK ON THE ANSWER:

We can grade this one as a high-level answer. The reasons are:

• There are uses of concrete words to portray the problem. The speaker has used some strong vocabulary to describe thoughts and feelings about this problem.
• The speaker has covered the chief points with some tangible information, which has expanded the answer.
• The solution offered here to combat this problem looks solid and trustworthy, with good use of vocabulary and collocations.
• Coherence and cohesion have been maintained and the answer has covered all the points and avoided breaking the sequence. So, the answer sounds perfect.

You can also some of the following topic cards if you understand this one:

• A problem in your country
• A major crisis in your area
• A big problem in your area/country
• A problem that needs attention
• A crisis that we must solve immediately
• A problem that is difficult to solve quickly etc.

If you think the post is helpful, please follow and like us: