Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-14

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 5.5)

People faced many sort of issues with spreading of garbage on roads, parks or other places. By recycling people will overcome from this problem which now they not usually do. I will discuss the reason why it is happening and also give some solutions in the upcoming paragrapghs.

First and foremost cause is awareness. To be more precise, individuals do not have the information of green environment or suitable sources. They do not want to involve their self more in social welfare. For example,70 percentage of people throw the garbage and recycle material in the same bin where they suffered from many disease. When water hold in plastic bottle it creates malaria, degu kind of problems.

Moreover, nowadays people are more busy as compare to past. They go early in their workplace and come back at night. So they do not have time to clean their bins or recyle.

The best solution is government should organise some campus and events where folks become more aware about the environment and who breaks the rules should also be charged by authority. In addition, it is also compulsory for the enviromental service society to make sure that garbage truck will come every week to collect the garbage and also inspect of people's house and nearly places.

To conclude, I feel that it is not only the government duties to clean the environment but also humans responsibility to take care of the surrounding area. Authority should do some surveys in regular basis and also punished people who create a problem for our environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for low recycling rates and potential solutions. However, the development of ideas is limited. For instance, the explanation regarding 'awareness' is somewhat vague, and the example provided (70% of people throwing garbage in the same bin) lacks clarity and logical connection to the health issues mentioned. The solutions are relevant but remain at a surface level, lacking detail on how government campaigns or stricter enforcement would practically function. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your points with more specific, logical examples and ensure the connection between your arguments and the prompt is tighter.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the flow between sentences is often mechanical or disjointed. For example, the transition 'Moreover, nowadays people are more busy' is a bit abrupt. While some cohesive devices are used (e.g., 'First and foremost', 'In addition', 'To conclude'), they are sometimes used incorrectly or in a repetitive manner. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'where they suffered from many disease', where the antecedent of 'they' is ambiguous. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring clear logical progression between sentences would significantly improve the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety expected at higher levels. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'overcome from this problem', 'water hold in plastic bottle', and 'inspect of people's house'. You rely on basic vocabulary and struggle with collocations. To improve, focus on learning word families and common collocations related to environmental topics. Using more sophisticated vocabulary, such as 'environmental degradation' or 'mandatory waste management policies', would help demonstrate a wider range and better control over lexical items.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'government should organise some campus'), article usage (e.g., 'in the upcoming paragrapghs'), and incorrect prepositional phrases (e.g., 'on regular basis'). While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. You should focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, particularly with pluralisation, articles, and verb forms, to ensure your complex sentences are constructed correctly.

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

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