Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-09-01

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)

In several nations,individuals do not recycle as much as household west as they could.This is mainly because of lack of awareness and convenient recycling facilities. However,there are few steps could be taken to resolve this issue.Both my perception and solution will be discussed in upcoming paragraph.

One major reason behind low recycling rate is that many people are not sufficiently aware about environmental consequences of west.Some individual may not understand how recycling technique reduce pollution.Furthermore, another factor is inconvenience.In many places ,there are not availability of different bin for different rubbish ; people put every type of rubbish in one.In addition,some people believe that recycling require too much time and efforts,specially when there is no immediate benefits for them.

There are several steps to overcome this problem.Firstly,government should aware common individuals about this problem and run campaign regarding to this problem.Moreover,government should provide proper education on recycling in school and colleges.With this approach, children develop good skills on recycling technique.Furthermore,government should band on plastic and promote environment friendly recycle able paper bag.Financial incentives could also encourage people to recycle.For example,small refund or reward for returning plastic bottle and bags.Government should provide proper places or bins to dump west.Lastly,m,local authorities should take necessary steps for this problem and take immediate action on people who not support or do recycling their rubbish.

In conclusion,people should need to aware about recycling and government should promote paper bags.Government could run workshops ,campaign to aware common individuals about this topic.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, identifying reasons for low recycling rates and suggesting solutions. However, the essay falls short of the 250-word minimum requirement, which negatively impacts the development of ideas. While the main points are relevant, they are somewhat repetitive and lack depth. For instance, the suggestion to 'run campaigns' is mentioned multiple times without specific detail. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your arguments with more concrete examples or deeper analysis. The position is clear, but the under-length nature of the response limits the overall task coverage.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or repetitive (e.g., 'Furthermore' is used three times). There are also issues with referencing and flow; for example, the phrase 'Both my perception and solution will be discussed in upcoming paragraph' is slightly awkward and does not clearly signpost the essay's structure. Paragraphing is present, but the transition between ideas could be smoother. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring they are used naturally would significantly improve the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several spelling errors, such as 'west' instead of 'waste', 'recycle able' instead of 'recyclable', and 'band' instead of 'ban'. Additionally, some collocations are unnatural, such as 'aware common individuals' instead of 'raise awareness among the public'. While you attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'environmental consequences' and 'financial incentives', the frequent errors in word choice and spelling hinder the overall quality. Expanding your vocabulary and focusing on accurate word forms will help you achieve a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include missing articles (e.g., 'in school and colleges'), incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'recycling require' instead of 'requires'), and punctuation errors, such as missing spaces after commas and periods. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be distracting. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement, consistent use of articles, and proofreading for basic punctuation and spacing errors to ensure your writing is more polished and accurate.

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

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