Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-05
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)
In contemporary society, the issue of throwing recyclable material into garbage has emerged as a pressing concern that adversely impacts people as well as environment. there are numerous underlying factors responsible for this phenomenon, yet practical measures can be undertaken to mitigate its consequences. This essay will examine the predominant causes and viable solutions to address it.
One of the most significant causes of not recycling rubbish is lack of awareness. Primarily, there are many uneducated people in rural areas who are not aware about importance of recycle process, so they do not know where to put recyclable items. Apart form this, recycle bins are not provide by government in many parts of cities. Hence, people throw their garbage on open even its recyclable or not.
Moreover, there are some steps which can be taken to solve this problem, awareness programs should be organised for public. I addition, government must provide proper sere to dispose and recycle garbage. Different bins must be provided along with a tag on them which will help public to find correct bin. Furthermore, schools can also play an essential role by teaching students a lesson for dispose of garbage. In this way, issue can be solved.
In conclusion, put plastic items in trash is unsafe for environment. Although lack of awareness and proper dispose service is not provided by government, problem can be solved by making people aware and providing proper facilties .
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The essay addresses both parts of the prompt, identifying causes such as lack of awareness and infrastructure, and proposing solutions like educational programs and better facilities. However, the response is under the 250-word minimum, which limits the depth of development. The ideas are relevant but remain somewhat superficial; for instance, the suggestion that schools should teach a 'lesson' is vague. To reach a higher band, you need to expand your arguments with more specific examples or detailed explanations to fully meet the word count requirement and demonstrate a more thorough exploration of the topic.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, body paragraphs for causes and solutions, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Moreover', 'In addition', and 'Furthermore', though some transitions feel mechanical. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'dispose of garbage' where the connection to the previous sentence could be smoother. The progression of ideas is generally logical, but the limited length prevents a more sophisticated flow of arguments. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would enhance the overall coherence.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks range and precision. You use basic terms like 'garbage', 'rubbish', and 'things', which are repetitive. There are also some awkward collocations and word choice errors, such as 'provide proper sere' (likely meant 'service') and 'throw their garbage on open'. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of more sophisticated or topic-specific vocabulary (e.g., 'waste management', 'sustainability', 'infrastructure') keeps the score in the mid-range. Focusing on learning synonyms and collocations related to environmental issues will help improve your lexical variety.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the environment', 'the government'), pluralization ('recycle bins are not provide'), and preposition usage. Some sentences are grammatically incomplete or awkward, such as 'throw their garbage on open even its recyclable or not'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall accuracy. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement, correct article usage, and proofreading for basic sentence structure errors.
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.