Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-09-29

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)

Recycling has become an increasingly prevalent issue in contemporary society, giving rise to considerable concern among individuals, communities, and policymakers. Several underlying factors contribute to this development, and we can implement effective measures to address its root causes. The following paragraphs will examine the principal causes of this issue and the most visible solutions.

There are several compelling reasons behind the growing prevalence of recycling rubbish items, one of the most significant being less awareness in society. This can largely be attributed to schools and colleges; our educational courses are not aware of recycling. Most individuals don't know the importance of recycling. Consequently, people don't focus on recycling their rubbish as much as they could, which has contributed considerably to the escalation of this issue. Furthermore, another noteworthy contributing factor is that most people are more comfortable with disposable products. This is because it is widely available. In addition, governments also play an important role in this situation. In particular, the government doesn't provide recycling plants near residential areas. This can subsequently lead to individuals casting away their rubbish items to dustbin.

To address these underlying causes, a range of well-coordinated

measures should be implemented by both the authorities and the wider

community. First and foremost, in schools we have to introduce the importance of recycling waste products. This could be achieved by implication of one lesson in every academic syllabus. Such an intervention would help to increase awareness in the newer generation. Moreover, greater emphasis should be placed on government. This can be accomplished through advertisements.

Finally, individuals also have a crucial role to play in tackling this issue. They should recycle their rubbish items, as this would encourage society. With sustained cooperation between governments and individuals, the root causes of this problem could be addressed more effectively and its long-term consequences substantially reduced.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully addresses both parts of the prompt: why people do not recycle as much as they could, and what can be done to change this. The writer puts forward clear ideas, such as a lack of societal awareness in schools and the prevalence of disposable products, alongside corresponding solutions like introducing lessons and government advertising campaigns. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed; for example, the explanation that educational courses are not aware of recycling is somewhat imprecise in its phrasing. The position is clear throughout, and the main tenets of the task are adequately covered, aligning well with the Band 6.5 to Band 7 descriptor range. Overall, the content is relevant and addresses the prompt directly, though deeper elaboration on the proposed solutions would elevate the response further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a clear overall arrangement with logical paragraphing, separating the introduction, causes, solutions, and conclusion appropriately. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as 'Furthermore', 'First and foremost', and 'Finally', though some referencing and transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, such as 'In addition' and 'Moreover'. Paragraph transitions generally guide the reader through the progression of the essay, satisfying the criteria for a clear logical flow. However, occasional awkward phrasing in cohesive links, such as 'This can largely be attributed to schools and colleges; our educational courses are not aware of recycling', slightly disrupts the seamless flow of ideas, placing this essay securely at the Band 6 level.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'prevalent', 'contemporary society', and 'well-coordinated measures'. However, there are notable lexical inaccuracies and awkward collocations throughout the text. For instance, stating that 'our educational courses are not aware of recycling' misuses the adjective 'aware' in this context. Similarly, phrases like 'casting away their rubbish items to dustbin' contain minor grammatical and lexical infelicities regarding article usage and prepositional choice ('to dustbin' instead of 'into dustbins'). Despite these occasional errors and limitations in precision, the vocabulary remains sufficient to communicate the main arguments without impeding the reader's understanding, earning a solid Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at varied structures such as 'Recycling has become an increasingly prevalent issue...' and 'With sustained cooperation between governments and individuals, the root causes...'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward structures present, such as 'less awareness in society' instead of 'a lack of awareness', and the singular/plural mismatch in 'rubbish items to dustbin'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors occur, they rarely impede communication. The control over grammar matches the Band 6 descriptors, where simple structures are handled with reasonable accuracy, but complex structures frequently introduce minor errors and non-idiomatic phrasing.

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.