Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-13

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)

Recycling is not very common in many countries, and people do not recycle as much as they could.

There could be a lot of reasons to why people do not recycle their trash as much as they could. Firstly, people might not be aware of the benefits of recycling. If people do not know why recycling is important they might not make actual efforts to recycle their trash. For instance, a housewife might say that she is busy and can not separate trash for recycling everytime. Secondly, the government might not be doing their part by implementing some kind of incentive for people who recycle their rubbish and punshiment for people who do not recycle their trash. For instance, if people of a certain country know that no matter if they recycle their rubbish or not, there would be no consequence they might not make recycle their rubbish as much as they could.

Turning to solutions, a wide spread awareness campaign engaging public figures, students, activist might help in raising awareness about the benefits of recycling. For example, if a school conducts regular seminars on how recycling reduces excessive cutting of trees and why more trees are important for our planet, students might start recycling their own trash and influence their parents to do so too. In addition to a wide spread awareness campaign the government should introduce incentives to encourage people to recycle as much as they can and the government should also introduce strict punishments for the household who fails to recycle their rubbish repeatedly. For instance, if the government introduces a booth where people can give their used plastic bottles and get money in return, people might become more active and interested in recycling.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the question: it gives reasons for low recycling, including limited awareness and a lack of government incentives or penalties, then proposes awareness campaigns and financial rewards or sanctions. The examples about school seminars and exchanging plastic bottles for money help make the proposals relevant. This meets the task well, and the ideas are generally clear. However, some points are asserted rather than fully explained: for example, the claim that people will not recycle if there are no consequences could be developed by explaining practical barriers such as inconvenient collection services. The discussion of penalties for households also needs qualification to show how enforcement could be fair and workable. More balanced development would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph explaining causes, and a paragraph presenting solutions. Sequencing words such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” “Turning to solutions,” and “In addition” make the progression easy to follow. The examples are placed alongside the points they support, which helps the reader understand the argument. However, the linking is somewhat mechanical, with several points introduced through formulaic transitions, and repeated references to recycling and rubbish make the flow less smooth. Some sentences also carry several connected ideas, particularly in the solutions paragraph. Use clearer paragraph breaks and vary the ways you connect explanations, examples, and consequences to make cohesion more natural.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for discussing the topic, and phrases such as “awareness campaign,” “incentive,” and “strict punishments” show attempts to use relevant, more specific language. Meaning remains clear throughout. However, the range is limited by repeated use of “recycle,” “trash,” and “people,” and some expressions are imprecise or unnatural, such as “make recycle their rubbish” and “a wide spread awareness campaign.” There are also spelling errors, including “punshiment” and “everytime,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise topic vocabulary and check spelling and collocations carefully; for example, distinguish between household waste, recyclable materials, and recycling facilities rather than relying on the same general terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex forms, including conditional sentences such as “if a school conducts regular seminars … students might start recycling” and clauses beginning with “if.” These structures help explain possible outcomes, and the main meaning is generally clear. Some grammatical errors remain, however. In “There could be a lot of reasons to why,” the preposition pattern is incorrect; “reasons why” would be more suitable. “A housewife … can not separate” has an awkward modal construction, while “the household who fails” has a mismatch between the singular noun and the relative pronoun. Several long sentences also need more careful punctuation and control. Review preposition patterns, agreement, and sentence boundaries while retaining the useful range of complex structures.

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