Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-11-10

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 6.0)

Globally, many individuals fail to recycle their garbage as much as they could.While many people believe this is due to complacency, i personally, believe that there is a lack of structure for people to dispose their waste.

One of the main reasons why people fail to dispose their garbage properly is due to the lack of disposal facilities. For instance, in many developed countries like UK and USA there is a clear seperation of waste based on their elements. Plastics are kept in the recycle bin while biodegradable waste is disposed seperately. This ensures that plastics can be recycled in an efficient manner by not mixing with other wastes. Lack of these facilities in other countries like Brazil and India leads to ineffective waste management and garbage build up .Another major reason is the lack of knowledge on recycling waste.Many people are unable to differentiate between biodegradable and non - biodegradable waste . For instance, due to the lack of education in underdeveloped countries people do not pay attention to dumping their waste .

There can be various measures the government can take to tackle this issue.Government can introduce subjects in school that educate students on recycling waste by teaching its importance.They can also impose fines on people who fail to follow rules regarding garbage disposal.In these ways the government can ensure that people play their part in recycling waste.Governments can also provide incentive to those who clable wast recycle their waste.

In conclusion, lack of facilities is the major reason why people fail to recycle their waste along with lack of knowledge.Government can employ strict measures so that people recycle their waste and ensure proper facilities for recyclable waste to be disposed.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall6.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the question: it identifies inadequate disposal facilities and limited public knowledge as causes, then proposes school education, fines and incentives. The position is clear, especially in the introduction and conclusion, and the examples of separating plastics from biodegradable waste help explain the facilities point. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others. The discussion of education is brief, and the proposed incentives are not explained; the phrase about rewarding people who recycle is also unclear. To strengthen the response, explain how each measure would change behaviour and add a specific, relevant example. This would make the support more consistently developed and precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure, moving from an introduction to causes, solutions and a conclusion. Paragraphing generally helps the reader follow this progression, and signposts such as “One of the main reasons” and “In conclusion” make the organisation explicit. However, some connections are mechanical, and several ideas are crowded together in the causes paragraph. For example, the shift from facilities to lack of knowledge would be clearer with a separate paragraph or a more deliberate transition. Missing spaces after full stops and inconsistent punctuation also interrupt the flow. Use cohesive devices more flexibly, and make sure each paragraph develops one main point in a clear sequence.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses relevant topic vocabulary, including “disposal facilities,” “biodegradable,” “waste management” and “incentive,” so the main ideas are understandable. However, the range and control are uneven, with repetition of “waste,” “garbage” and “lack,” and some inaccurate or unclear expressions. “Dispose their waste” is not the natural construction, while “clable wast recycle their waste” makes the intended incentive point difficult to understand. There are also spelling errors such as “seperation” and “seperately.” Aim for more precise collocations and check spelling carefully; varied terms such as “recycling infrastructure” and “public awareness” would help express the argument more naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

There is some variety in sentence forms, including a conditional structure in “This ensures that plastics can be recycled” and a relative clause in “those who … recycle their waste.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, but grammatical control is inconsistent. For example, “there is a clear separation … based on their elements” has unclear agreement and reference, and “One of the main reasons … is due to” combines two patterns awkwardly. The opening also has faulty punctuation and capitalisation in “could.While” and “i personally.” Review sentence boundaries, articles and agreement, and practise building complex sentences accurately. More consistently controlled structures would make the argument easier to read.

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

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