Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-09-08

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 5.0)

In many countries people do not recycle as much household waste as they could. this is mainly because of a lack of awareness and recycling facilities. However, governments and individuals can take several steps to improve this situation.

One major reason for low recycling rates is that many people are not sufficiently aware of the environmental consequences of waste. Some individuals believe that recycling is inconvenient or time-consuming, so they simply put everything in this same bin. another problem is that recycling facility are not easily available in same areas. For ex, if household do not have separate bins for paper , plastic and glass, they are less likely to sort their rubbish properly.

There are several effective ways to address these issues. First, government should introduce education campaigns in schools, workspace and through social media to explain the benefits of recycling.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response is significantly under the required word count of 250 words, reaching only 142 words. Consequently, the task is only partially addressed. While the introduction and the first body paragraph identify reasons for low recycling rates, the second body paragraph is incomplete, and the essay lacks a conclusion. The ideas presented are relevant but remain underdeveloped due to the premature ending. To achieve a higher band, you must fully develop each point with specific examples and ensure the essay meets the minimum length requirement to allow for a complete discussion of both parts of the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay shows a basic attempt at logical organization, using paragraph breaks to separate the introduction from the body paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'However', 'One major reason', and 'First' are used to signal progression. However, because the essay is incomplete, the overall coherence is affected. The referencing is generally clear, but the lack of a concluding paragraph and the abrupt ending hinder the flow of the argument. To improve, ensure that each paragraph is fully developed and that the essay concludes with a summary of the main points.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task but lacks range and sophistication. You use common terms like 'inconvenient', 'time-consuming', and 'environmental consequences' correctly. There are some minor errors, such as 'recycling facility are' (should be plural 'facilities are') and 'in same areas' (should be 'in some areas'). To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise, topic-specific vocabulary and ensure consistent accuracy in word choice and pluralization.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, including punctuation issues (e.g., 'For ex, if household do not have' should be 'For example, if households do not have') and subject-verb agreement errors. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to affect the overall quality. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic errors like pluralization, article usage, and subject-verb agreement, and aim to vary your sentence structures more confidently.

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.