Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-19

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 7.0)

In this developmental era, many countries observe that people do not recycle and reuse waste to its full potential. From my perspective, despite considering the factors promoting these phenomena, several measures can be taken to mitigate this issue across the world.

These days, many people are not active in recycling activities due to many factors. Firstly, due to a lack of available resources to recycle rubbish in some areas. Consequently, rather than keeping a variety of garbage in separate bins, people dump all the waste in the same garbage, despite its recyclability. Secondly, if the schemes are available, poor publicity and awareness prevent the public from using the facility correctly. Thirdly, poor management by authorities, such as low maintenance, low replenishment of bags in bins, and missed scheduled garbage pickups, leads to leniency towards these issues, which turns these practices into new habits.

To mitigate these issues, the government should emphasise promoting awareness by using various types of media, advertising, rallies, and demonstrations, which should not only focus on the practices that need to be followed but also explain the consequences for not doing them. Additionally, amenities like recycling units should be established densely throughout all populated areas to cope with the mass volume of garbage. In Japan, for instance, Tokyo authorities have announced an incentive for the community who recycle the most garbage. These solutions will inspire people to recycle more.

In conclusion, the higher authorities and communities should work together to mitigate the issue by spreading awareness of the benefits of recycling rubbish and providing the resources.

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 discussion on infrastructure and public awareness provides a clear explanation for the problem, while the suggestions regarding media campaigns and incentives offer practical solutions. The position is consistent throughout. To reach a higher band, the development could be slightly more detailed; for example, explaining how specific media campaigns change behavior or elaborating on the long-term impact of the Japanese incentive model would add more depth to the argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is well-organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The use of cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'Consequently', and 'In addition' helps to guide the reader through the argument. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the causes from the solutions. The progression of ideas is logical, moving from the identification of problems to actionable measures. The referencing is generally clear, though some transitions could be more sophisticated to improve the flow between sentences and paragraphs, moving beyond basic signposting to more nuanced logical links.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is sufficient and appropriate for the task. The student uses topic-specific terms such as 'recyclability', 'replenishment', and 'incentive' correctly. There is an attempt to use less common vocabulary, which is generally successful. However, there are some minor collocations that could be improved, such as 'dump all the waste in the same garbage' (which should be 'same bin' or 'general waste') and 'lenience towards these issues'. Overall, the range is adequate to convey meaning with precision, and the errors do not impede communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There is good control over grammar, and most sentences are error-free. For example, the use of conditional structures ('if the schemes are available...') and complex noun phrases shows a good grasp of syntax. There are occasional minor errors, such as 'people dump all the waste in the same garbage' (where 'garbage' is used as a container rather than the waste itself) and 'the community who recycle' (which should be 'the community that recycles'). These errors are infrequent and do not hinder understanding.

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

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