Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-23

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)

There has been a heating debate that in most of the countries, the majority of people do not recycle their rubbish as much as they easily could. This essay will discuss the reasons behind this scenario and will suggest some viable measures to be implemented.

The proponents of this phenomenon believe that people have less knowledge about the product's reusages. It seems that many people do not recycle because they are ill-literate or have little knowledge. For instance, people tend to throw empty cans or bottles directly into dustbin every time right after finishing drinks without knowing that these can be easily refilled after washing diligently.

Another reason could be that people think it is a wastage of time to collect the rubbish in order to process recycle. A few people invest their time to collect the reusable items so that they can restore the usage, conversely, many people think opposite of this and they consider this as a total waste of their precious time.

Fortunately, there are measures that can be adopted to tackle this problem. Firstly, the government, should organize an educational campaigns to make the society aware of its positive and detrimental impacts on the environment as well as well-being of the society. Secondly, the state can impose monetary penalty if anyone does not recycle the items which can be done. Lastly, those who cannot recycle, they should opt for paper bags instead of using plastic bags. This can be done by local shopkeepers.

Taking everything into consideration, although people are not recycling because they are unaware and they consider the same as a total waste of time, these steps can be implemented to change this trend.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the task directly, discussing reasons why people do not recycle as much as they could and offering actionable solutions. The position is clear throughout the essay. Ideas are generally relevant, such as lack of knowledge about reuse and the perception that recycling is time-consuming. However, some arguments lack full extension; for instance, the explanation regarding reusing plastic bottles by refilling them ('after washing diligently') is slightly unconventional or under-developed in the context of municipal recycling systems. Similarly, the solution involving shopkeepers providing paper bags slightly misinterprets municipal recycling responsibilities. Despite these minor limitations, all parts of the prompt are addressed, supporting a Band 6.5 or 7.0 profile. On balance, the student meets the Band 6 descriptors well by addressing all parts, though some ideas lack complete depth and clarity.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with each body paragraph addressing a distinct aspect of the prompt (causes and solutions). Cohesive devices are employed to guide the reader, such as 'The proponents of this phenomenon', 'Another reason could be', and 'Firstly, the government, should organize'. However, some cohesive referencing and transitions are a bit mechanical or awkward, such as 'consider the same as a total waste of time'. Furthermore, the comma usage around conjunctions ('the government, should organize') disrupts the flow. The progression of ideas is logical overall, placing the text firmly within the Band 6 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common collocations and lexical items such as 'viable measures', 'proponents', 'detrimental impacts', and 'monetary penalty'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'heating debate' instead of 'heated debate', 'ill-literate' instead of 'illiterate', and 'process recycle' instead of 'the recycling process'. The phrase 'product's reusages' is also non-standard. These errors do not impede communication, as the writer's meaning remains clear, which aligns well with the Band 6 descriptor criteria for lexical resource.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including relative clauses and conditional-like structures ('if anyone does not recycle the items which can be done'). There are, however, several grammatical errors and punctuation slips throughout the response. Examples include unnecessary comma placement ('the government, should organize an educational campaigns'), subject-verb or article agreement issues ('an educational campaigns'), and awkward phrasing like 'those who cannot recycle, they should opt for'. While these errors occasionally distract the reader, they rarely impede overall communication, and a mix of structures is successfully attempted, supporting a Band 6 score.

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

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