Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-04

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 today's complex world numerous issues and topics are subjected to debate. One such topic is the recycling of rubbish. People do not recycle as much household rubbish as they should. This is a serious environmental issue because excessive waste can lead to pollution and the unnecessary use of natural resources. There are several reasons for this problem, and governments and individuals can take various measures to improve the situation.

One of the main reason is the lack of awareness of the general public. People often believe that recycling is worthless and wastage of time. For instance, plastic bottles, can and paper are often thrown in to general waste as people are not aware of the benefits of recycling. Another important factor is inconvenience. In some communities there are no recycle bins or proper collection services which make the recycle collection difficult.

There are several ways to address this problem. Government should provide enough recycling bins and make recycling more convenient. Separate bins should be provided in residential areas, schools and work places. Moreover, educating school children and the public is most important. Students if they educate properly while schooling itself can make a remarkable change. Then they become adults they know how to recycle correctly. Finally, financial incentive could encourage more people to recycle. For instance, if a small reward was given for returning plastic, can or any recyclable product people may be enthusiastic.

In conclusion,low recycling in some countries is mainly because of the lack of awareness and inadequate recycling facilities.Governments can tackle this issue by improving collection systems, educating the public and providing incentives. With greater awareness and convenient recycling services, people are more likely to develop environmentally responsible habits.

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, you identify lack of awareness and inconvenience as primary causes, and suggest infrastructure improvements and education as solutions. The position is clear throughout. To reach a higher band, you could provide more specific, real-world examples rather than general statements like 'some communities'. Developing the link between the 'financial incentive' and the actual behavioral change would also add depth to your argument, ensuring all parts are fully extended.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is well-organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central topic, and the progression of ideas is logical. You use cohesive devices such as 'One of the main reasons', 'Another important factor', and 'In conclusion' to guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with punctuation and spacing (e.g., 'thrown in to' should be 'thrown into', and missing spaces after periods). Improving the variety of linking words would make the flow more natural and sophisticated.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'environmental issue', 'natural resources', and 'financial incentive'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'wastage of time' (should be 'a waste of time') and 'if they educate properly' (should be 'if they are educated properly'). The vocabulary is generally sufficient to convey your meaning, but it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. Expanding your use of topic-specific collocations would enhance your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement and article usage (e.g., 'One of the main reason' should be 'reasons', 'Government should' should be 'Governments should', and 'Students if they educate properly' is structurally awkward). Punctuation errors, such as missing spaces after full stops, also occur. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for basic agreement and article usage will lead to significant improvement.

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

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