Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-10-10

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)

The waste collection system in many countries varies. There are rural areas where they do not have complete knowledge about the types of waste we produce. Firstly, every country needs a body to explain them with the waste goes and how it is segregated. The governmet plays a crucial role here. As it is the best way to communicate about sensitive information to a vast range of audiences.

More over, the usage of recyclable goods is barely being used in most of the countries. I believe one should start promoting reusable cups, plates and glasses. Which are mostly considered to be a great use. For instants, the population in India have recently been introduced to plastic free products for daily use. I believe the youth of the country will be able to make the population understand what big difference it makes to keep the world neat and clean by making use of the recycled waste. It can help us build a clean environment. Make use of the waste to build flower pots to make once community look beautiful by planting the plants that produce carbon monoxide. Which is good for health.

Further more, the government has to introduse different waste collection policies. For example, Canada has different waste collection bins. Where in it differentiates between organic wastes, plastic waste and recycle waste. In the beginning of the year, the government sends out a manual to the house owners about the policies. I believe such polices have to be taken as an example and should be a regular practice in all the countries.

In conclusion, there should be regular practice in making people understand the pros and cons of having waste to be recycled. As it will make lot of good changes in the environment. The plastic usage should be completly banned.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both questions by identifying limited public knowledge and weak recycling habits as reasons, then proposing education, reusable products and clearer collection policies. The examples of India’s plastic-free products and Canada’s separate bins make the response relevant. However, some ideas are not fully explained: the opening refers to rural areas’ lack of knowledge but does not show how this leads to low recycling, and the suggestion to promote reusable goods is not clearly distinguished from recycling itself. The final call to ban plastic is also asserted rather than supported. To strengthen the response, explain the causes more directly and develop each proposed measure with a clear account of how it would change people’s behaviour.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: it introduces the issue, presents suggestions in separate paragraphs, and ends with a conclusion. Sequencing words such as “Firstly,” “For example,” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of the argument. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. “More over” introduces a new point without showing how it relates to the earlier discussion, while “Which are mostly considered to be a great use” is detached from the sentence before it. Several fragments, including “Where in it differentiates…” and “Make use of the waste…,” interrupt the flow. Use complete sentences and make links between each cause, example and solution explicit; this would make the progression easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “recyclable,” “waste collection bins,” “organic wastes,” and “policies,” and you attempt more specific expressions such as “segregated” and “carbon monoxide.” However, the range is limited by repeated general words such as “waste,” “make use,” and “good,” and several choices or collocations are inaccurate. For example, “the usage of recyclable goods is barely being used” is awkward and unclear, while “plants that produce carbon monoxide” appears to express the wrong idea. Spelling errors such as “govermet,” “instants,” “introduse,” and “completly” also reduce accuracy. Build a more precise set of recycling terms and check spelling and natural word combinations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex forms, including “As it is the best way to communicate…” and “I believe the youth… will be able to make… understand…”. However, sentence control is inconsistent, and some structures are incomplete or difficult to follow. “As it is the best way…” is a dependent clause used as a sentence, while “Which are mostly considered…” and “Where in it differentiates…” are also fragments. There are errors in agreement and sentence construction, as in “the population in India have,” and punctuation sometimes separates clauses incorrectly. Practise combining dependent clauses with a main clause and checking subject–verb agreement. More consistently complete sentences would make your ideas clearer.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.