Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-06

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, people do not recycle as much household waste as they could. This is mainly because of a lack of awareness and convenient recycling facilities. However, governments and individuals can take several steps to encourage better recycling habits.

One of the main reason why people do not recycle enough is that they are not fully aware of its importance. Many people do not understand how waste is harmful for their health as well as environment or how recycling waste can reduce pollution and save natural resources. Another reason is that recycling is inconvenient. In some areas, there are not many facilities to collect waste or separate bins for recycling materials. Consequently, people put all the waste in one bin which is easier and quicker.

There are several ways to address this problem. First, the governments should provide facilities to to make it convenient. They have to provide enough waste bins outside the school, park and other areas. They also have to provide daily waste collection service which make people more convenient. Second, the government and schools have to conduct awareness campaigns which helps people understand the issues. Moreover, the government should also provide some small rewards which encourage people to recycle. For instance, people should get money in return of plastic bottles and other materials.

In conclusion, People often fail to recycle because they lack aware and access to convenient facilities. By improving recycling service, educating people and providing financial incentives, the government could encourage people to develop better recycling habits and could reduce environmental damage.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by identifying causes and proposing solutions regarding household recycling. The position is clear throughout the essay. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others, which places the response in the mid-range. For example, while the causes lack deep explanation beyond surface-level statements such as 'people do not understand how waste is harmful', the solutions offer clearer extensions, including the example of getting money in return for plastic bottles. To reach a higher level, all main ideas require equal depth and extension, supported by fully elaborated explanations and more specific examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression of ideas from causes to solutions and a clear conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with distinct sections for the introduction, causes, solutions, and conclusion. Cohesive devices are generally present, such as 'First', 'Second', and 'Moreover', though some referencing and connective choices feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. To move further up, the response would benefit from more varied and flexible cohesive devices that link ideas more fluidly across sentences and paragraphs, ensuring that relationships between arguments feel completely natural rather than formulaic.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-related terms such as 'household waste', 'natural resources', 'pollution', and 'financial incentives'. There are, however, noticeable word-choice errors and awkward collocations that reflect a limited range, such as writing 'lack aware' instead of 'lack awareness' and using repetitive structures. Spelling and word-choice errors are present but do not impede communication. To achieve a higher score, the writer needs to demonstrate a more precise and flexible vocabulary range, using less common lexical items accurately and avoiding word-form errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over sentence structure. There are, nevertheless, several grammatical errors throughout the text, including article omissions and preposition errors such as 'provide facilities to to make it' and 'service which make people more convenient'. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur regularly alongside awkward phrasing. To attain a higher band, the writer must demonstrate better control over complex sentence patterns and produce a higher proportion of error-free sentences, particularly regarding subject-verb agreement and article usage.

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