Band 9 model answer
As extinction rates accelerate around the world, the question of who must safeguard threatened species grows ever more pressing. While governments undeniably bear the greatest burden, I firmly disagree with the notion that they alone should shoulder it; meaningful protection demands a broad coalition of states, corporations and ordinary citizens working in concert.
Governments possess powers that no other actor can match. Only the state can legislate against poaching, designate protected reserves and negotiate international treaties such as those restricting the global ivory trade. These instruments establish the legal framework within which all conservation operates, and without robust enforcement, even the best intentions of private parties would amount to very little. In this sense, the primary responsibility legitimately rests with national authorities and their agencies.
Nevertheless, confining responsibility to governments alone would be both naive and counterproductive. Businesses frequently inflict the gravest harm, clearing forests for plantations or polluting the rivers on which aquatic life depends; they therefore have a clear duty to operate sustainably and to fund restoration. Individuals, too, wield surprising influence through their everyday purchasing choices, refusing products linked to deforestation and supporting conservation charities. Collective consumer pressure has already forced numerous corporations to abandon their most damaging practices.
In conclusion, although the law-making and enforcement role of governments is indispensable, I strongly believe that protecting endangered species is a shared obligation. Sustainable corporate conduct and conscientious individual behaviour reinforce official policy and fill the gaps it cannot reach. Only when all three parties pull in the same direction can the relentless loss of biodiversity realistically be slowed and, ideally, reversed.
Examiner’s notes
- Task Response: the writer takes an unambiguous stance ('I firmly disagree') and sustains it, conceding the government's central role while arguing convincingly for shared responsibility.
- Coherence and Cohesion: each body paragraph opens with a clear topic sentence and the contrast 'Nevertheless' signals the pivot from concession to the writer's main argument.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy: the answer deploys complex structures such as the inversion-free conditional 'Only when all three parties pull in the same direction can the relentless loss... be slowed', handled accurately.