Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-10-05

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)

In many countries, people do not recycle their rubbish as much as they could. I strongly believe that this is due to lack of education, weak regulation and oversight, and ignorance of the government. The climate is changing and the planet is becoming warmer. Scientists have already expressed their concern and the risk to our plannet if we continue emitting carbon at the same rate.

For example, if I talk about the third world countries such as Pakistan, the government should educate the people about the significance of recycling and how it will save the resources of our planet. We can not deny the fact that natural resources are becoming scarce, and soon or later, we will not be able to meet the demand of the growing population.

Furthermore, the regulators and oversight authorities should step forward. Strict rules and regulations should be introduced to encourage people to recycle their rubbish. In fact, the oversight authorities should put in place a proper mechanism to ensure that people are recycling their rubbish. There should not be any escape route for the people.

Moreover, government can impose heavy fines and taxes on those who do not recycle their rubbish. In my opinion, the regulators and law implentation authorities are the major players; therefore, they are responsible for establishing a proper system to know the amount of waste a company or industry is producing. Only then, they'll be able to held people accountable for not recycling their rubbish as much as they could.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

First, it is important to note that the response contains 236 words, falling short of the minimum 250-word requirement, with 14 words copied directly from the prompt not counted. Regarding content, the essay addresses both parts of the prompt by discussing reasons why people do not recycle, such as a lack of education and weak regulation, and proposes solutions like government intervention and fines. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others. While the points regarding government rules and fines are elaborated, the initial mention of climate change and general ignorance is somewhat superficial and under-developed. To reach a higher level, all parts of the task must be fully explored with consistently extended and well-supported ideas, while strictly meeting the word count.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the essay into an introduction, body paragraphs, and a concluding discussion. Each paragraph focuses on a distinct idea, such as education in the second paragraph and regulatory authorities in the third and fourth paragraphs. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or repetitive, as seen in the frequent reliance on transitional phrases like 'Furthermore' and 'Moreover'. Additionally, referencing is occasionally imprecise, which disrupts the natural flow and logical progression between sentences. To improve cohesion, you should employ a wider and more flexible variety of cohesive devices organically, ensuring seamless transitions from one point to the next.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying the main arguments regarding recycling and government oversight. You attempt less common vocabulary items such as 'oversight authorities', 'significant', and 'scarce', demonstrating an acceptable range. However, there are some word-choice and collocation errors that slightly detract from precision, such as writing 'plannet' (spelling), 'third world countries' (which can be phrased more formally), and 'law implentation authorities' (misspelling of implementation). Furthermore, phrases like 'escape route' and 'heavy fines and taxes' are somewhat conversational. To achieve a higher band, you need to use a wider range of sophisticated, less common lexical items with greater accuracy and stylistic awareness.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating structures such as conditional clauses ('if I talk about the third world countries...') and relative clauses. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, but they rarely impede communication. Examples of minor inaccuracies include article usage, such as 'due to lack of education' (missing an article), and prepositional patterns, such as 'be able to held people accountable' where the base verb should follow 'be able to'. Punctuation and verb forms are generally controlled well enough to ensure the reader can follow the argument. To improve, you should aim for a higher proportion of error-free complex sentences and refine your control over finer grammatical details.

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

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