Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-09-30

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 recent times, it is a quite common not recycle the things which results in demaging environment drastically. Although a lack of awareness about the benefits of recycling and inadequate government regulations are two major causes of this problem, I believe that raising public awareness, introducing effective recycling methods and enforcing strict laws are the most effective solutions..This essay will analyse root causes and feasible remedies with relevant example.

One of the main causes, a considerable proposition of people are unknown about its advantages and unfamiliar with sorting waste. As they are unaware about the drastice consequences for themselves and environment as well. However, unless government should organise awareness compaigns untill this problem would increase significantly. So government must invest money to provide some eduaction regarding this matter.

Additionally, inappropriate laws againts this upsurge is another cause. As most of individuals have no fear so they continuously dicard instead of recycle because there are no harsh laws and orders; however, apart from adopting viable techniques, it is madatory to impose some rules either short sentence or heavy penalty.For example, Canada, is a developed nation where Federal plays an essential role to conserve environment by managing wastage and promote more recycling.

In conclusion, even though lack of knowledge regarding recycling process and its benefits are significant causes which put detrimental impact on our society and atmosphere, I believe that it is essential if collective efforts are to be made by community and higher authorities

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt regarding the causes of low recycling rates and solutions to change this, presenting a clear position throughout. However, the ideas are somewhat limited and under-developed, with brief explanations that lack sufficient depth or elaboration. For example, the mention of Canada as an example is too vague and lacks supporting detail to fully illustrate how policies improve recycling. Additionally, it is important to note that the response falls slightly short of the 250-word minimum requirement, which restricts the depth of task coverage and prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. To improve, you should expand on your main points with more detailed explanations, specific examples, and ensure you meet the minimum word count.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, dividing the introduction, causes, solutions, and conclusion appropriately. There is a logical progression of ideas, as you introduce the causes first and then follow with remedies. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty and mechanical, with awkward transitional phrases and punctuation errors, such as double periods and misused conjunctions like 'However, unless government should organise...'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and some cohesive devices feel repetitive or inadequate. To achieve a higher band, you need to use a wider range of cohesive devices more naturally and ensure that your sentence-to-sentence transitions flow smoothly without disrupting the reader's understanding.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, demonstrating an attempt to use less common items such as 'drastic consequences', 'detrimental impact', and 'upsurge'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, including 'demaging', 'compaigns', 'eduaction', 'againts', and 'madatory'. These errors and awkward collocations, such as 'inappropriate laws againts this upsurge', occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. To improve your lexical score, you should focus on accurate spelling, precise word choice, and expanding your control of less common vocabulary in appropriate collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentence forms alongside faulty attempts at complex sentences. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as missing words, incorrect verb tenses and modal usage ('unless government should organise... untill this problem would increase'), and punctuation errors. For instance, the opening sentence contains a structural error ('it is a quite common not recycle'). These frequent errors can cause difficulty and strain for the reader. To move up to the next band, you need to demonstrate a greater variety of complex structures with improved accuracy, ensuring that your sentences are mostly error-free and grammatically sound.

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

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