Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-08-18

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)

In modern societies, people do not consider recycling waste materials as they should, because they lack awareness and civic sense. However, this behavior can be changed by educating them and implementing laws.

Nowadays, people are not recycling the wastes in many countries due to a lack of knowledge about the methods and importance of recycling wastes. The majority of population do not know that how rubbish can be recycled to produce valuable products. Moreover, they are not well aware about the impact of not recycling the garbage on climate as well as its consequences for the future generations. In addition, people throw the rubbish in bins, and think that its sole responsibility of the government to collect the wastes and recycle it.

I believe, the government should educate the public by introducing awareness sessions and specific advertisements to teach them effective ways to recycle and its importance. Moreover, the state should place the labeled bins with recycling logos in local areas for collecting and sorting wastes and implement strict laws and regulations. For example, in Korea and Japan, people are heavily fined for not recycling enough wastes. Furthermore, there should be national contests for presenting the innovative ways of recycling and people can be rewarded with incentives for the best proposal. In this way, people will be encouraged to take part in recycling.

In conclusion, people are not recycling enough because they lack awareness, responsibility, and motivation. This can be addressed by educating and encouraging them through the awareness sessions, implementing rules, and penalties for non-compliance.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for low recycling rates and potential solutions. The position is clear throughout, and the ideas are relevant. The reasons provided—lack of awareness and a sense of government responsibility—are well-developed. The solutions, such as public education, infrastructure improvements, and incentives, are practical and supported by examples from Korea and Japan. The response is well-structured and covers all requirements of the task effectively. To reach a higher band, you could further elaborate on the 'consequences for future generations' to add more depth to your argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'In addition', 'For example', and 'In conclusion' are used effectively to link ideas. The progression of ideas is smooth, moving from the problem to the solution. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different aspects of the prompt. The referencing is generally clear, though some minor improvements in the flow between sentences could make the text even more cohesive.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task and conveys meaning clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'civic sense', 'non-compliance', and 'incentives'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there is occasional repetition of words like 'recycling' and 'wastes'. To improve, try to use more varied synonyms or collocations. For instance, instead of repeating 'recycling wastes', you could use 'waste management' or 'reprocessing materials'. The word choice is generally accurate, and there are no significant errors that impede communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While most sentences are clear, there are some minor grammatical inaccuracies, such as 'the majority of population' (missing 'the') and 'its sole responsibility' (should be 'it is'). You use complex structures, but they are sometimes slightly awkward, such as 'do not know that how rubbish can be recycled'. Despite these errors, the meaning is always clear, and the punctuation is generally correct. Increasing the variety of complex structures and ensuring subject-verb agreement would help in achieving a higher score.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.