Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-22

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 6.0)

As experts agree that recycling of the rubbish is critical to protect the environment; however, people in many countries still do not recycle their rubbish. This essay will examine the factors behind this trend, and recommend methods to change this.

Non awareness of the potential impacts of non recycling has been considered a chief reason behind people not recycling their rubbish. This non awareness is mainly because population in some countries is not educated, and secondly, governments do not take awareness initiatives due to shortage of their fiscal budgets.

Another important factor behind non recycling is the cost, as many factories just dump their harmful waste water in rivers because recycling cost. For instance, it has been recently observed in a study that Punjab river in Sialkot, Pakistan is polluted with chemical waste of leather manufacturing factories, as factories are reluctant to bear any extra costs, and authorities are unable to force these factories to abide the law. Furthermore, municipalities in some countries do not have infrastructure to provide people to recycle the rubbish. For example, it is noticed in developed countries that garbage bins usually have three portions: one for bio waste, one for plastic. and one for paper waste. However, this is really absent in many parts of developing countries.

One of the breakthrough initiative that must be taken by to cope with this trend is to raise awareness, and educate people of the harmful affects of this practice to their environment. For instance, Indian government recently launched a campaign "swasth Bharat" whereby influential individuals were hired to publicly demonstrate the benefits of cleanliness and recycling.

Reducing the cost of recycling is also a major way to persuade corporations and factories to recycle their dump. Innovative methods of recycling whereby factories can also reduce their raw material cost by using their recycled ingredients should be taught to such factories. Furthermore, governments can provide subsidy or allow tax allowances to those organizations who recycle their rubbish.

In conclusion, as financial cost of recycling, and lack of awareness are the major contributors towards non recycling of rubbish by people, this can be encouraged by financial incentives or penalties, and proactive awareness campaigns by authorities. For instance, the UAE government just recently imposed a charge of AED 0.25 for plastic bags, and this initiatives has pushed people to think about purchasing recycled bags for shopping.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, examining the reasons why people do not recycle as much as they could and suggesting appropriate solutions. The position is clear throughout the essay. Ideas are extended and supported, such as when the writer discusses awareness and cost factors, providing specific examples like the 'swasth Bharat' campaign and the UAE plastic bag fee. However, there is a slight tendency to conflate individual recycling with industrial waste disposal, slightly shifting the scope of the prompt in the third paragraph, but overall, the task is well addressed, warranting a solid Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear logical organization and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct central topic, moving smoothly from introduction to causes, solutions, and conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'For instance', and 'In conclusion' are used flexibly and appropriately. Paragraphing is managed effectively to separate distinct ideas, such as individual lack of awareness versus corporate financial barriers. While referencing is generally clear, occasional mechanical transitions prevent the response from reaching the highest bands, placing it comfortably at Band 7.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary with some flexibility and precision, demonstrating an awareness of style and collocation through terms like 'fiscal budgets', 'reluctant to bear', and 'proactive awareness campaigns'. However, there are noticeable word-choice errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'Non awareness' instead of 'Lack of awareness', 'breakthrough initiative' (pluralization error with 'initiative'), and 'recycled ingredients'. These minor lexical inaccuracies prevent a higher score, making Band 6.5 an accurate reflection of the student's lexical control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at varied structures including conditional and relative clauses. There are, however, several noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing choices, such as 'As experts agree that recycling of the rubbish is critical...; however, people...', 'educate people of the harmful affects', and 'provide people to recycle the rubbish'. Additionally, punctuation and preposition errors occur occasionally (e.g., 'abide the law' instead of 'abide by the law'). These errors do not impede overall communication, supporting a Band 6.0.

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

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