Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-09-10

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 6.5)

Recycling is one of the most important action to protect nature. Nevertheless, some people do not do it, especially in some countries. This essay will outline the causes behind this negligence and will propose solutions to this issue.

It is widely spread the idea that many people do not care about world's health and safeguard. One of the main reasons why this happens is because not enough education on the topic has been granted. For example, most of the people who are not currently recycling, do not know that their negligent actions are actively damaging the earth. Another point to be considered is that social media, newspapers and advertising are not spreading enough awarness on this matter, and as a consequence of this, citizen are often ignorant or nonchalant about this matter, as they did not have been provided with enough educational inputs on that matter.

On the other hand, there are many simple ways to prevent people from polluting. Firstly, governments should include environmental studies into their school curricula, to teach how and why recyling is crucial to the world's health. This improvement could easily decrease the number of people who are not recycling. Secondly, high sanctions and rigid controls should be integrated into cities' regulations so that the majority of people would be less likely not to recycle, as they would not want to receive a fine.

In conclusion, recycling has a huge impact on earth's safeguard, and most of the time people are not doing it as a result of their ignorance, but education and sanctions can be used as solutions to this problem.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for the lack of recycling and potential solutions. The ideas are relevant, such as the lack of education and the need for government intervention through school curricula and fines. However, the development is somewhat superficial. For example, the explanation regarding why people are 'nonchalant' could be more deeply explored with specific examples of cultural or economic barriers. While the position is clear throughout, the essay would benefit from more nuanced arguments to reach a higher band. The response is balanced and covers the task requirements adequately.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the causes from the solutions. Cohesive devices such as 'Nevertheless', 'For example', 'Another point to be considered', and 'Firstly' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there is occasional awkwardness in the flow of ideas, such as the repetitive use of 'on that matter' or 'this matter'. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear, and the structure supports the reader's understanding of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'negligence', 'nonchalant', and 'curricula'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'world's health and safeguard' (safeguard is usually a verb or a specific noun, 'protection' or 'preservation' would be more natural) and 'educational inputs'. Spelling errors like 'awarness' and 'recyling' are present but do not impede communication. To improve, the student should focus on more precise collocations and academic phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'It is widely spread the idea' (should be 'The idea is widely spread'), 'as they did not have been provided' (incorrect tense), and 'one of the most important action' (should be 'actions'). Punctuation is generally correct, but the frequency of these grammatical slips prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. The student demonstrates an ability to construct complex sentences, but control over these structures needs to be more consistent.

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

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