Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-11

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In many countries, people do not recycle their rubbish as much as they could.

Why do you think this is?

What can be done to change this?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 6.5)

People from many countries in the world are potentially putting less efforts to recycle the waste, which is a predominant reason for the environmental degradation. While there are several causes behind this approach by them, certain measures taken by the authorities can resolve the issue effectively.

To start with the causes, the first and foremost one is a lack of awareness. In other words, people from many communities are illiterate, making it extremely difficult for them to understand the potential threats to the environment when they fail to recycle their rubbish. For instance, numerous backward areas in Indian region have reportedly caused extreme damage to the environment simply because local residents are not familiar with the fundamental understanding of keeping surroundings safe from pollution by recycling the waste. Another factor is poor infrastructure. This means, while manufacturing of plastic products is increasing significantly, waste departments are still inadequate to meet certain requirements for disposal of plastic waste. Therefore, people are not able to contribute enough to dispose rubbish.

However, the government can play a crucial role to mitigate these challenges by allocating sufficient funds to the respective department which can help improve infrastructure predominantly. Furthermore, conducting campaigns to spread awareness among residents in remote area can be an effective way to solve such problems. For instance, Canadian government often arrange campaigns at schools, universities, and public places to educate local people about the significance of recycling waste. Consequently, Canada is ranked one of the top countries to have caused least damage to the environment.

In conclusion, although a lack of basic understanding and poor infrastructure have caused people not to recycle the rubbish on regular basis, the officials can reduce such issues to greater extent by providing adequate aid and conducting awareness campaigns.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for low recycling rates and potential solutions. The ideas are relevant and logically developed. For instance, the explanation of 'lack of awareness' and 'poor infrastructure' provides a clear rationale, while the solutions regarding government funding and educational campaigns are practical and well-supported by examples. The position is clear throughout the essay. To reach a higher band, the student could deepen the analysis by exploring more complex socio-economic factors or discussing the effectiveness of specific recycling policies in more detail, rather than relying on general observations.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'To start with', 'In other words', 'Furthermore', and 'Consequently' are used effectively to guide the reader through the argument. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with each paragraph focusing on a central theme. The progression of ideas is smooth, and the relationship between the causes and the proposed solutions is clearly established. The use of referencing is generally accurate, though some transitions could be slightly more sophisticated to enhance the flow between sentences.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is generally appropriate and sufficient for the task. The student uses topic-specific terms such as 'environmental degradation', 'infrastructure', 'disposal', and 'mitigate'. There are some minor inaccuracies in collocation, such as 'putting less efforts' (should be 'putting less effort') and 'Indian region' (should be 'the Indian region'). While the range is adequate to convey meaning clearly, it lacks the more precise, idiomatic, or sophisticated lexical choices that would characterize a higher band score. The repetition of 'rubbish' and 'waste' could also be mitigated by using synonyms like 'refuse' or 'discarded materials'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'people from many countries... are potentially putting less efforts' (subject-verb agreement/pluralization) and 'Canadian government often arrange' (should be 'The Canadian government often arranges'). Punctuation is generally functional, though some sentences could be refined for better clarity. While the errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the essay from reaching the 7.0 band, which requires a higher frequency of error-free sentences and more consistent control over complex structures.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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