Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-15

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)

In certain nations individuals do not recycle their rubbish as much as they could, i personally believe certain changes can be implemented by governments and individuals to encourage recycling and protect the environment.

On the one hand, Recycling helps nations to counter the excess plastic problem and marine pollution produced by it, Whereas it also establishes clean surroundings but in certain nations individuals fail to fully utilize the recycling because of limited information and infrastructure in area, For instance my district individuals are not aware about refurbishment they often thrown their stuff on streets and sometimes they never again use it for years and majority of people use this model, i personally believe limited knowledge and limited government intervention is the main culprit.

On the other hand, Lack of bins and facilites contributes this problem further rises because lack of infrastructure leads people to throe rubbish in uncertain areas and not using the same product again, Well to counter this problem authorities should first estabilish dustbins and facilites that would facilitate recycling further public awareness is also very important television advertisements can make broader impact in nation, Lastly masses follow surroundings if self aware people start recycling material others will be following them in and educated individuals can provide assistance. For example in nearby village nri citizens living abroad started dustbins and recycline and overtime people started to follow them and eventually it changed the condition of village.

Overall, awareness about recycling can contribute massively as well government should establish dust bins and recycling factories, With the help of educated self aware masses condition and environment can become better overtime.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both parts of the question: you identify limited public knowledge and inadequate recycling infrastructure as reasons, then suggest bins, facilities, television advertising and community role models. Your position—that governments and individuals should act—is clear, and the village example gives the proposed community influence some support. However, several points are only partly explained. For instance, the reference to people not knowing about “refurbishment” is not clearly connected to recycling, and the claim that people leave items unused for years needs a clearer explanation of how this contributes to low recycling. Develop each cause and solution with a more precise explanation or example, and make sure the example directly illustrates the point being made. (The response meets the task’s length requirement.)

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, paragraphs presenting causes and solutions, and a concluding summary. The contrast between “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” helps signal the shift in focus, and the final paragraph returns to the main recommendations. However, progression within the body paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow because several ideas are joined into long, loosely connected sentences. For example, the first body paragraph moves from plastic pollution to limited information, refurbishment and discarded belongings without clearly showing the links. Some connectors, including “Lastly” and “For example,” are useful, but the overall linking can feel mechanical. Separate distinct points into clearer sentences and use referencing to show how each example supports its preceding claim.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “marine pollution,” “infrastructure,” “public awareness” and “government intervention.” These choices show an attempt to discuss the issue beyond basic terms. However, several word choices, collocations and spelling errors reduce precision and sometimes make the meaning unclear. “Individuals are not aware about refurbishment” does not express the intended recycling-related idea clearly, while “thrown their stuff on streets” and “uncertain areas” are imprecise. There are also misspellings such as “facilites,” “estabilish” and “recycline.” Aim for accurate, natural combinations such as “lack awareness of recycling” and “dispose of waste in inappropriate places,” and proofread spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “because” and “if,” and the main message is generally understandable. However, sentence boundaries and punctuation are often poorly controlled, particularly where several independent ideas are joined with commas. For example, the sentence beginning “On the one hand” continues through multiple claims without clear separation. There are also errors in agreement and verb forms, as in “individuals … often thrown their stuff,” and missing or incorrect articles and prepositions in phrases such as “in area” and “contributes this problem.” Use shorter, complete sentences when presenting separate ideas, check subject–verb agreement and verb forms, and review articles and prepositions during editing.

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.