Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-24
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)
The habit of recycling rubbish has been decreasing in many countries that has contributed to increasing environmental pollution.There are a lot of reasons for this decreasing trend.
First of all the main reason is that lives has become so much busier these days.People prefer to simply throw away waste rather than doing the effort to recycle it.In addition,people think that recycling rubbish gives them no monetary benefit so they do not get into the hassle of recycling it.
In my opinion,government should organise campaigns and social activities to guide people that recycling waste can decrease environmental pollution.It can also convert the harmful and toxic pollutants into biodegradable products.For example people can recycle plastic bottles and containers that can reduce the wastage of plastic.Furthermore,people who recycle waste should be acknowledged and given incentives.In this it encourages more and more people to get engaged in this activity.
Recycling waste not only provides benefits to people but also sustains environment. Therefore it must be encouraged at local as well as national level.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, reaching only 169 words. This significantly impacts the development of ideas. While the essay addresses both parts of the prompt—reasons for low recycling rates and potential solutions—the ideas are presented in a very superficial manner. For instance, the reasons provided (busy lives and lack of monetary benefit) are mentioned but not sufficiently expanded upon with depth or illustrative detail. Similarly, the solutions are listed briefly without explaining how they would be implemented or their potential impact. To improve, you must expand your arguments with specific examples, explanations, and logical consequences to meet the length requirement and demonstrate a more thorough response to the task.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into short paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat mechanical. While some cohesive devices are used, such as 'First of all', 'In addition', and 'Furthermore', the transitions between sentences feel abrupt due to the brevity of the content. The use of referencing is generally clear, but the overall flow is hindered by the lack of depth in the arguments. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive devices to link ideas more fluidly and ensure that each paragraph has a clear, well-developed central theme.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task but remains quite basic and repetitive. Phrases like 'decreasing trend', 'environmental pollution', and 'recycling waste' are used correctly but lack variety. There is little evidence of less common lexical items or idiomatic language. For example, instead of repeating 'recycling waste', you could use synonyms or paraphrases like 'reprocessing discarded materials' or 'waste management initiatives'. To improve, aim to incorporate more precise vocabulary related to the environment and social policy to demonstrate a wider range of expression.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. However, there are several grammatical errors that detract from the quality of the writing. For example, 'lives has become' should be 'lives have become', and 'government should organise' requires an article ('the government'). Additionally, there are punctuation issues, such as missing spaces after periods. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to limit the score. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and ensure you proofread for basic punctuation and article usage.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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