Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-11-14

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)

Individuals in many countries avoid recycling thier waste.I believe this is due to the lack of proper awareness and training of people regarding adverse effects of not recycling on environment and this can be changed by arranging proper seminars and public awareness campaigns on benifits of recycling on environment.

people do not recycle their waste as they should because they are not aware enough about the positive effects of recycling on our surrounding.Majority of people do not know how recycling reduces the waste and help clean our surroundings.They lack proper education regarding environmental issues and how they affects our daily life.As a result they keep spreading waste and do not take part in recycling it.For instance , New York times report in its article concluded that most of the countries having highest pollution rates do not have litterate individuals who are aware of the good affects of recycling on environment.

However this behaviour can be changed by arranging proper awareness programs regarding environment related issues and how these problems can be solved.Through these campaigns we can educate people on how recycling helps improve our surroundings,reduces major diseases and how without their contribution it would be impossible to achieve a healthy and pollution free environment.For example , in Somalia pollution reduced to its minimum in 2010 and Somalian government mentioned the reason to be public awareness programs and campaigns.

In conclusion,lack of proper awareness regarding environment,pollution and good effects of recycling, is the main reason behind people not taking part in recycling activities and this can be resolved by making people aware of the advantages and disadvntages of recycling on everyone lives.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both parts of the question: you identify limited environmental awareness as a reason for low recycling and propose awareness programmes and campaigns as a response. Your position is clear in the introduction and conclusion. However, the explanation is narrow and some claims are not sufficiently developed. For example, you say people do not know how recycling reduces waste, but you could explain why this lack of knowledge leads them not to recycle, or include other barriers such as inconvenient collection facilities. The examples about a New York Times report and Somalia are relevant in principle, but their connection to recycling is asserted rather than explained or supported. Develop each main point with a clearer cause-and-effect explanation and a specific, credible example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph explaining the cause, a paragraph proposing a solution, and a conclusion. This makes the main line of argument easy to follow. You also use basic linking expressions such as “As a result,” “However,” and “For example.” At times, though, cohesion is mechanical or unclear. The second body paragraph moves from awareness campaigns to disease reduction and then to a claim about Somalia without showing the links between these ideas. Some sentences also run together because punctuation and spacing are inconsistent. Use clearer transitions between each claim and its supporting explanation, and make sure examples directly illustrate the point they follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “recycling,” “environmental issues,” “pollution,” and “awareness programs,” so the reader can understand the subject and your main ideas. There are also attempts at more specific phrases such as “public awareness campaigns” and “healthy and pollution free environment.” However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors reduce precision, including “litterate,” “good affects,” and “disadvntages.” Phrases such as “positive effects of recycling on our surrounding” are also awkward or imprecise. Build a wider set of accurate environmental collocations, and check spelling and word forms carefully so that your meaning is expressed more naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a cause-and-effect structure beginning “As a result” and a longer sentence explaining how campaigns could educate people. The overall meaning is generally understandable. However, some errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles, and punctuation remain. For example, “how they affects our daily life” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “Majority of people” needs an article in this construction. The opening sentence also joins several ideas in a way that is difficult to control, and missing spaces after full stops make sentence boundaries less clear. Practise building accurate complex sentences, then check agreement, articles, and punctuation during revision.

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