Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Nowadays, many countries do not recycle their household waste as much as they should. This is mainly because they are not aware of the importance of the recycling and recycling facilities are not always easily available. However, this problem can be reduced thorough better public education and improve recycling services.

Firstly, one of the main reason why people do not recycle enough is that they may not understand its importance. Some people are unaware of the environmental problems caused by throwing recyclable materials into general waste. In addition, recycling can be inconvenient when there are not enough separate bins in residential areas. For example, if people have to travel a long distance to find a recycle center, they may simply put plastic bottles, papers and other recyclable items in their normal rubbish bins. Therefore, a lack of awareness and convenient facilities can discourage people from recycling.

There are several ways to encourage people to recycle more. Firstly, government should provide better education about recycling thorough schools, television and social media. This could help people understand how recycling protects the environment and reduce wastes. Secondly, local authorities should provide separate recycling bins in residential areas and collect recyclable rubbish regularly. For example, if every household separate bins for plastic, paper and glass, recycling would become much easier. Therefore, education and convenient recycling services could encourage more people to develop this habit.

In conclusion, people often fail to recycle because they lack awareness and do not have easy access to recycling facilities. Government and local authorities can improve this situation by educating the public and providing convenient recycling services.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

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, you identify lack of awareness and inconvenient facilities as primary causes, and suggest education and improved infrastructure as solutions. The position is clear throughout. To reach a higher band, you could further extend your ideas by providing more specific examples or exploring the 'why' behind the lack of awareness in more depth. Overall, the response is well-structured and directly answers the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, and cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'In addition', 'Therefore', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For example, the transition between the lack of awareness and the inconvenience of facilities could be more integrated. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two main ideas, which helps the reader follow your argument easily.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'recyclable materials', 'residential areas', and 'local authorities' correctly. There are some minor errors, such as 'thorough' instead of 'through' and 'reduce wastes' instead of 'reduce waste'. While you successfully convey your meaning, the vocabulary is generally functional rather than sophisticated. To improve, try to incorporate more precise collocations and less common lexical items related to environmental issues to show greater flexibility and precision in your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'one of the main reason' (should be 'reasons'), 'government should' (should be 'the government should'), and 'if every household separate bins' (missing a verb, e.g., 'had'). These errors are frequent enough to prevent a higher score but do not impede communication. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles would significantly improve the accuracy of your writing.

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