Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-15

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 an undeniable fact that the tendancy of irresponsible people who choose not to reuse or recycle their goods is deteriorating the environment and resulting in an increasingly serious global issue. This essay will delve into the main causes of this problem and suggest practical solutions to alleviate it.

One of the primary causes behind this phenomenon is the neglective attitude of pupils towards proper waste management system, even inside their own houses. In fact, they consider all trash as garbage and dump it instead of separating the reusable items. For instance, plastic waterbottles can be easily reused by everyone at any place. Similarly, aluminium cans can be recycled without difficulty. Moving onto another factor that cannot be neglected is the lack of public awareness about environmental benefits of using the 4-R principle; which stands for Recycle, Reuse, Refuse and Reduce. Furthermore, the modren-day celebrities follow instantly changing fashionand immediately throwing them just after a single use. Due to this use-and-throw culture, the audience is urged to frequently purchase unnecessary new items and not recycling essentials.

To address this issue, the government should step-up and spread a large-scale awareness regarding environmental degradation caused due to this habit. Additionally, there should be appropriate waste management system, where the recycleables, including metals and plastics can be seperately collected, recycled and reused to reduce emissions. Moreover, the local municipality can create a system in which people can receive rewards in return for recycling water bottles, cardboards and plastics. This method, as a consequence, will be a win-win situation for everyone.

In conclusion, although the problem of limitation of recycling to a certain limit stems from several factors, appropriate measures from both public and the authorities can effectively tackle it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by identifying why people do not recycle as much as they could and suggesting practical solutions. The writer puts forward clear reasons, such as a neglective attitude and a lack of public awareness regarding the 4-R principle, and supports them with examples like plastic water bottles and aluminium cans. Solutions are also well-developed, including government awareness campaigns, improved waste management systems, and a reward-based municipality system. Ideas are extended throughout, meeting the requirements of Band 7. The position is clear, and the overall scope of the prompt is fully covered.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay displays a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information and ideas are coherently structured into an introduction, body paragraphs addressing causes and solutions, and a concise conclusion. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'One of the primary causes', 'Similarly', and 'To address this issue', although there are minor mechanical transitions. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with each body paragraph focusing on a distinct aspect of the prompt. Referencing is generally clear, contributing to a smooth reading experience that aligns with Band 7 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary for flexibility and precision, employing less common lexical items such as 'environmental degradation', 'emissions', and 'municipality'. However, there are noticeable word-choice and spelling errors that prevent a higher band, such as 'tendancy' instead of tendency, 'neglective' instead of neglectful, 'waterbottles', 'modren-day', 'fashionand', and 'recycleables'. Despite these inaccuracies, the vocabulary is adequate for the task, and meaning is rarely impeded, fitting comfortably into the Band 6 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including relative clauses and conditional structures. There are instances of good grammatical control, but several errors persist throughout the text, such as missing articles, punctuation issues around semicolons, and minor syntactical slips in phrases like 'not recycling essentials'. Additionally, subject-verb agreement and preposition choices occasionally falter. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they demonstrate a pattern of inaccuracies that prevents the response from reaching Band 7.

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

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