Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-09-02

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 many countries, it's widely being observed that people aren't recycling their garbage as much as they could. This can be credited due to various factors like being irresponsible or being selfish. However, this is an alarming issue, which needs to be addressed.

The primary factor for this issue, I would mention is that people are becoming more and more irresponsible and selfish. Correct disposal of garbage is extremely crucial for our environment. For example, a person throwing the wrapper on the road after enjoying his ice-cream is being lazy and selfish at the same time by thinking that what could be the issue with just one wrapper. But if everyone thinks alike, then we are just digging the grave for ourselves and more so for the generations to come.

Moreover, many people are also not aware of what benefits does recycling and correct disposal of garbage reap. They don't possess the knowledge of their past wrong deeds, which they are still repeating. From my own experience, I can vouch for the fact that recycling can be the most satisfactory and artistic as well. Till a certain point, I used to discard the glass bottles after consuming the drinks, unaware of what harmful effects my actions are causing to the environment, but now I transform every glass bottle into a beautiful pot for plants after painting.

In conclusion, people need to be made aware of recycling and correct garbage disposal, taking in account the future generations. The government can also start monetising the garbage. This trend is widely followed and appreciated in countries like Germany, where people earn money on selling their plastic garbage.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

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 suggestion of government-led financial incentives. However, the development is somewhat limited. The explanation of why people are 'irresponsible' is a bit simplistic, and the personal anecdote about painting glass bottles, while creative, does not fully address the systemic nature of the problem. To reach a higher band, you should expand on broader societal or structural barriers to recycling rather than focusing primarily on individual character traits.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, each with a clear focus. There is a progression of ideas from the problem to the solution. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Moreover', 'However', and 'In conclusion', which help the flow. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally imprecise, such as in the sentence 'They don't possess the knowledge of their past wrong deeds', where the connection to the previous point is slightly awkward. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate and the structure is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task. You use some good collocations like 'alarming issue' and 'correct disposal'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and phrasing, such as 'credited due to' (should be 'attributed to') and 'monetising the garbage' (which is slightly imprecise in this context). The phrase 'digging the grave for ourselves' is a bit dramatic and not entirely natural in this formal context. Expanding your range of topic-specific vocabulary related to environmental policy would improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors. For instance, 'it's widely being observed' is awkward; 'it is widely observed' would be more natural. You also have issues with article usage and prepositions, such as 'throwing the wrapper' (should be 'a wrapper') and 'taking in account' (should be 'taking into account'). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher band score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage.

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

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