Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-09-19

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)

With the widespread adoption of computers, growth of technology rapidly rise and with that people's life become faster. However, one thing that is constant and that is waste management as people and goverment are not still aware about thier enviroments which significant threat to increase in pollution and mainly in land and air pollution as people are not recycling thier waste as much as they need to.

School nowadays focusing on technology and innovation and they are not giving significants to waste management and that leads to lack of knowledge between individuals about recycling. Thereby people do not recycle their waste as they need to. For instance, countries like Japan, children are exposed to cleaning and waste management from very young age, therefore Japan and Japanese people always praised by world for thier cleanliness.

To avoid this, goverment should take steps and first step is to introduction of waste management subject in schools. Secondly, goverment bodies should run campain to promote recycling among citizens. Goverment also need to punish people who are doing waste and breaking the law of recycling. For instance, in singapore there is a strict rule where no one can throw chew gum at anywhere it need to be first treated accordingly and then it can be thrown and if someone break rule then they need to pay a high value punishment.

To conclude that, people should be aware ans as well as goverment should be aware of this and need to create a change and make sure that everybody follows the recycling path

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: why people do not recycle as much as they could, and what can be done to change this. A clear position is maintained throughout the essay. The writer attributes the lack of recycling to a lack of educational focus and awareness, and suggests solutions such as introducing waste management in schools, running government campaigns, and imposing penalties. However, some ideas are under-developed and lack extension. For instance, the example regarding Singapore focuses on chewing gum rather than general recycling laws, which only partially supports the argument. While all prompt requirements are met, the depth of explanation keeps the score at this level, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into four paragraphs with a clear overall structure introducing the problem, causes, solutions, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal progression, such as 'However', 'To avoid this', 'Secondly', and 'To conclude that'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, 'waste management as people and goverment are not still aware about thier enviroments which significant threat' demonstrates clumsy linking clauses. Paragraphing is present and generally appropriate, but the logical progression within paragraphs could be smoother. The overall arrangement is coherent, making it a solid Band 6 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate for the topic, including terms like 'waste management', 'pollution', 'innovation', and 'citizens'. However, there are numerous spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, such as 'goverment' instead of government, 'thier' instead of their, 'campain' instead of campaign, and 'chew gum' instead of chewing gum. Furthermore, phrases like 'doing waste' instead of generating waste or creating waste indicate limited collocation control. These lexical inadequacies place the response firmly in the Band 5 category, as the errors are noticeable and occasionally cause slight difficulty for the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating conditional and relative clauses. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors in basic sentence structure, articles, and prepositions. Examples include 'people's life become faster', 'growth of technology rapidly rise', 'lack of knowledge between individuals', and 'from very young age'. Run-on sentences and missing verbs, such as in the opening sentence and the conclusion ('To conclude that, people should be aware ans as well as...'), disrupt readability. Although these errors rarely impede overall communication entirely, their high frequency prevents the essay from reaching a higher band, making Band 5 an accurate reflection.

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

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