Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-08

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)

It is increasingly common that citizens do not recycle their waste to the fullest. In my opinion this is due to various reasons like convenience, lack of awareness and clarity on the long term benefits of recycling.

To begin with, citizens want to contribute in the sustainability of the country and environment. However, they are not able to contribute in the recycling as much as they could because in today's fast moving world where both partners are working professionals they do not have the time to follow a long process like having separate bins for different wastes or going to a collection center for recycling process. Also, they are unable to foresee the future benefits of the process and that demotivates them.

This scenario can be changed by providing convenience, awareness and instant rewards. For instance, there are countries where day's are defined for each kind of waste and the waste is collected from the door steps. This eases the effort of remembering which waste to put in which bin and saves a trip to the collection center. Also, rewards are given in form of vouchers or cash for specific waste like single use plastic. Along with all this initiative we can also introduce the concept of recycling at home and sustainability in the school to make awareness at the early age.

To summarize, citizenscan be encouraged to recycle waste as much as possible with introduction to the concept at an early age, making the process convenient for working professionals and giving instant rewards for the recycling.

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, such as the lack of time for busy professionals and the suggestion of door-to-door collection. However, the development is somewhat limited. For instance, the point about 'lack of awareness' is mentioned in the introduction but not fully explored in the body paragraphs. The ideas are clear, but they could be extended with more specific examples or deeper analysis to reach a higher band. The position is consistent throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the reasons from the solutions. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'However', 'For instance', and 'To summarize' are used to guide the reader. While the flow is generally smooth, some transitions are a bit mechanical. Referencing is mostly clear, though the connection between the ideas in the second paragraph could be tightened to improve the overall progression of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey their ideas clearly. There is some use of topic-specific vocabulary like 'sustainability', 'collection center', and 'single use plastic'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are occasional inaccuracies in collocation, such as 'contribute in the sustainability' (should be 'contribute to') and 'make awareness' (should be 'raise awareness'). The vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the message, but it lacks the sophistication and precision required for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'day's are defined' (should be 'days'), 'citizenscan' (missing space), and 'in the school' (should be 'in schools'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede communication. The control of punctuation is generally good, but the sentence structure could be more varied to demonstrate greater flexibility. The majority of the sentences are understandable, but the frequency of minor errors prevents a higher score.

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.