Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

In this contemporary world, recycling has become an important issue. Most people still do not recycle their household waste as much as they could. There are many reasons behind this phenomenon. In this essay, I will discuss those causes in the upcoming paragraphs with help of relevant examples.

On the one hand, manifold points can be put down to explain the reasons behind this development. First and foremost is, most of people follow a hectic schedule due to it they are tired and after reaching home they want to sleep. Secondly, some people are unaware of the demerits of throwing recyclable material in general waste. they simply consider recycling is time-consuming and prefer to throw everything into one bin.

On the other hand, there are several ways to encourage people to recycle more. Primarily, government should provide better recycling facilities and clearly labelled recycling bins in residential areas, schools and public places. They should also run educational campaigns to explain how recycling helps reduce pollution and conserve natural resources. Additionally, the government should arrange camps for them, which will help them to learn about recycling benefits. For instance, workplaces and educational institutions that provide clearly labelled bins can encourage people to separate paper, plastic and food waste correctly.

In conclusion, after giving above confabulation, people often fail to recycle because of a lack of knowledge, inconvenient facilities and the belief that recycling requires extra effort. Governments can address these problems by improving recycling services, educating the public and providing incentives. With cooperation between governments, communities and individuals, recycling rates can increase significantly.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed both parts of the prompt: reasons for low recycling rates and potential solutions. Your position is clear throughout the essay. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the point about people having 'hectic schedules' is a good start, but it could be expanded with more specific detail on how this directly prevents recycling (e.g., the mental energy required to sort waste). Similarly, the solutions are relevant but could benefit from more depth regarding how they specifically overcome the identified barriers. Overall, the response is well-structured and covers all requirements of the task effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'First and foremost', and 'In conclusion' to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive. For example, 'after giving above confabulation' is an awkward and unnatural way to introduce a conclusion. Additionally, the referencing in the second paragraph ('due to it they are tired') is grammatically unclear and disrupts the flow. Improving the variety and naturalness of your linking phrases would help elevate your score in this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'contemporary world', 'phenomenon', 'demerits', and 'conserve natural resources'. There are some instances of slightly unnatural word choices, such as 'confabulation' in the conclusion, which is not the correct term for summarizing an essay. You also rely on some basic phrasing. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and avoiding words that are used in the wrong context. Your spelling is generally accurate, and the vocabulary used is sufficient to communicate your ideas clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. For example, 'most of people' should be 'most people', and 'due to it they are tired' is a run-on sentence that lacks proper punctuation or a conjunction. There are also minor errors with articles and prepositions, such as 'government should provide' (should be 'the government'). While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and sentence boundary punctuation will improve your accuracy.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.