Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-08-04

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)

Nowadays, recycling has become more important because it helps protect environment. However many people do not recycle any waste . I think this happen because of lack of awareness among the people .There are some ways to improve this situation.

One reason why people do not recycle the waste is that they do not know how it effects the environment. They think it is normal to throw everything together but they do not realize that recycling can reduce the pollution. Another reason is that many cities do not have enough bins. If recycling facilities are far away or difficult to use people are less likely to recycle or some people are lazy or too busy to separate their waste.

The government should aware people by teaching everyone through schools and news that recycling is very important for the environment .There should be different bins installed for plastics ,cans and other waste so people knows that they have to throw everything separately in their place. For example Australian government set a rule and installed at least 3 bins at each place one for plastic items ,one for cans or bottles and one for other waste so it is easy for people even and if they don't follow this rule they might get tax or fine for it to pay.

In conclusion, the main reasons for low recycling rates are a lack of awareness, poor recycling facilities, and people's habits. By educating the public and making recycling easier, governments can increase recycling and help create a cleaner and healthier environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for low recycling rates and potential solutions. The ideas are relevant, such as the lack of awareness and the need for better infrastructure. However, the development is somewhat basic. While the example of the Australian government is a good attempt at support, the explanation of why people are 'lazy' or 'too busy' is a bit superficial. To reach a higher band, you should expand on the consequences of these issues or provide more nuanced analysis of how specific policies effectively change human behavior. Overall, the position is clear and the task is fully addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central theme. There is a progression of ideas from the problem to the solution. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'One reason', 'Another reason', and 'In conclusion', which help the flow. However, some transitions are a bit mechanical or repetitive. The use of referencing could be improved; for instance, in the second paragraph, the link between the lack of bins and the resulting behavior is clear, but the connection between sentences could be smoother to avoid a slightly choppy feel.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task but lacks variety and sophistication. You rely on common words like 'important', 'things', and 'ways'. While you successfully use terms like 'recycling facilities', 'awareness', and 'pollution', there is limited use of less common or idiomatic language. Some word choices are slightly imprecise, such as 'government should aware people' (should be 'raise awareness among people' or 'educate people'). To improve, try to incorporate more precise collocations and topic-specific vocabulary related to environmental policy and sustainability.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. Examples include 'it effects the environment' (should be 'affects'), 'people knows' (should be 'people know'), and 'get tax or fine for it to pay' (which is awkward phrasing). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with spacing around commas and periods. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and article usage would be beneficial.

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

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