Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-11-05

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 5.5)

In some countries, there is a significant amount of rubbish that is left over, which is not recycled while having capacity to do so.

I think, there are certain measures that can be implemented, for the purpose of recycling all the rubbish. Government should develop policies regarding the recycling of the left over rubbish, in order to maintain cleanliness, and make environment neat and clean.

Government should intiate a campaign for spreading awareness about side effects of the rubbish which is not completely recycled. Government should formulate a department, they will handle the campaign, they will make it certain that everyone has received information about the recycling. It will improve people's awareness level, people will start recycling all the rubbish. They will start throwing the rubbish in dust bins, from where the waste management workers will take rubbish to the dumping site. For instance in punjab, Pakistan Green punjab workers collect all the rubbish and recycle it properly.

People should arrange proper tools for recycling of by themselves. As a responsible citizens it is our duty to keep our streets, town, and country clean. The recycling performed at individual level will automatically result in overall cleanliness. The instructions about the recycling of the rubbish should be included in the academic syllabus. Childern will learn about the recycling of the rubbish during their earlier studies, they will easily adopt the responsibility of the recycling.

In conclusion, I would say that there is need of proper awareness about the recycling of the waste. Policies must be developed by the governments to overvome this issue.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both parts of the question by proposing awareness campaigns, government policies, individual recycling, and school education. The Punjab example also gives the response a relevant real-world detail. However, the task asks why people do not recycle as much as they could, and this part is largely missing: the opening only notes that rubbish is left unrecycled, without explaining causes such as limited facilities, inconvenience, or lack of knowledge. Most of the response therefore focuses on solutions, and several are asserted rather than explained—for example, how a campaign would ensure that everyone receives information. Develop the reasons as well as the remedies, and support each main idea with a clear explanation or example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for proposed actions, and a conclusion. Ideas are generally grouped by topic, and phrases such as “For instance” help introduce an example. However, progression is weakened because the response moves directly from the opening to solutions without first developing the causes requested in the task. Cohesive links are also repetitive, particularly the repeated use of “Government should” and “They will,” and the references in “they will handle the campaign” are not fully clear. Some sentences list several steps without showing how they connect. Organise the body around causes and solutions, and use more varied, precise links between claims and explanations.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “recycling,” “waste management,” “awareness,” and “academic syllabus,” so the reader can follow the subject. However, the range is limited and several words or phrases are repeated, especially “rubbish,” “recycling,” and “clean.” Some choices are unnatural or imprecise, such as “left over rubbish,” “side effects of the rubbish,” and “arrange proper tools for recycling of by themselves.” There are also spelling errors, including “intiate,” “Childern,” and “overvome,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise environmental vocabulary and check spelling and collocations. For example, describe the consequences of improper waste disposal rather than its “side effects.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt some longer structures, including “The instructions about the recycling of the rubbish should be included in the academic syllabus,” and the main message is generally understandable. However, sentence patterns are often repetitive, and errors occur in agreement, articles, and clause construction. For example, “As a responsible citizens” has a singular/plural mismatch, while “Government should formulate a department, they will handle the campaign” joins clauses incorrectly. “I think, there are” also uses punctuation awkwardly, and “people will start recycling all the rubbish” repeats a simple future pattern. Practise combining ideas with accurate relative clauses and conjunctions, and check subject–verb agreement and article use. Greater control of these structures would make the argument easier to follow.

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

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