Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-08-15

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 7.0)

In many nations, people do not recycle their rubbish as much as they could.

In many countries, a large amount of household waste is not recycled, even though recycling can significantly reduce environmental damage. This essay will discuss the main reasons for this problem and suggest some effective solutions.

One major reason is a lack of awareness. Many people do not fully understand the environmental consequences of throwing recyclable materials into general waste. For example, plastic bottles and bags can take hundreds of years to decompose and can seriously pollute land and water. Another reason is inconvenience. In some areas, there are not enough recycling bins or collection services, so people may find it easier to put all their rubbish into one bin. In addition, some individuals believe that recycling is time-consuming and that their personal effort will have impact on them.

As every lock has key, there are many solutions too eradicate this problem. If Governments can take several measures to encourage people to recycle more. Firstly, they should provide separate recycling bins in residential areas and ensure that recyclable waste is collected regularly. Secondly, schools and media campaigns can educate the public about the environmental benefits of recycling from an early age. Financial incentives could also be effective. For instance, governments could introduce deposit-return schemes, where people receive a small amount of money for returning plastic bottles and cans. Furthermore, government should fine on households or businesses that repeatedly fail to follow waste-management rules.

To conclude, people often fail to recycle because of a lack of awareness, inconvenience and insufficient recycling facilities. Governments can address these problems by improving recycling infrastructure, educating the public and providing financial incentives or penalties. With these measures, recycling rates could increase considerably.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt—reasons for low recycling rates and potential solutions—in a balanced manner. The ideas are relevant and clearly explained, such as the lack of infrastructure and the need for educational campaigns. The position is consistent throughout. To reach a higher band, the development could be more nuanced; for instance, the point about 'personal effort' is slightly underdeveloped. Overall, the response is well-focused and provides a clear, logical progression of ideas that fully satisfies the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, and cohesive devices such as 'One major reason', 'In addition', and 'Firstly' are used effectively to guide the reader. The transition between the problem and the solution is smooth. The use of referencing is generally clear, although the phrase 'As every lock has key' is a slightly awkward attempt at an idiom. Overall, the flow of information is logical and easy to follow throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

The vocabulary is sufficient for the task and allows for some precision. Phrases like 'environmental consequences', 'decompose', and 'deposit-return schemes' demonstrate a good range of topic-specific language. There are some minor issues, such as the slightly unnatural idiom 'As every lock has key' (which should be 'As every lock has a key') and the phrasing 'fine on households' (which should be 'impose fines on households'). However, these errors do not impede communication, and the range is adequate to convey complex ideas clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The essay demonstrates a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There is generally good control over grammar, with many error-free sentences. However, there are a few minor slips, such as the missing article in 'As every lock has key' and the grammatical error 'government should fine on households', which should be 'the government should impose fines on households'. Despite these occasional inaccuracies, the control is strong, and the errors do not cause any confusion for the reader. Punctuation is used correctly throughout.

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

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