Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-17

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 6.5)

Individuals do not recycle their waste efficiently and effectively in many countries. In this essay, I will delineate why people do not recycle their rubbish as much along with what policies and practices could be implemented to change this behaviour.

One of the main reason people do not recycle their rubbish is because of the lack of rules and regulations. Individuals do not segregate the waste they produce at home and dispose all their waste in a single garbage bag. To change this behaviour, governments should implement strict policies and provide guidance on ways to dispose their garbage. For instance, in Japan, the government has implemented no-tolerance policies and laws that forces individuals to separate their home waste in different bin bags before disposing. If anyone is caught for not obeying the rules, they are penalised and even sent to prision for repetitive offences. As a result, Japan is ranked first globally for maximum waste recyclement.

Another reason people do not recycle waste much is because of lack of education. This is because people are never taught about the long term negative effective of not recycling their waste. By teaching children at school about the harmful impact of waste on the environment and how it directly affects the climate, students will always be mindful of recycling the waste.

In conclusion, the absence of strict laws and education, individuals do not fully recycle waste to their maximum capacity. By implementing policies and creating awareness among people early on in their life, they will practice recycling waste.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both parts of the question: you identify weak regulation and limited education as reasons, then suggest enforcement and school-based awareness. The Japan example supports the regulation point, although the claim about imprisonment and being ranked first is not explained or qualified, so it is less convincing. The education idea is relevant but receives less development: explain why adults also need information, or give a practical public-awareness measure. Your conclusion restates the main points rather than adding support. The response is 247 words, three words below the required minimum; the eight words copied from the prompt are not counted. Meeting the minimum would allow you to develop the less-supported ideas more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs organised around separate causes and solutions, and a conclusion. The progression is easy to follow, and signposting such as “One of the main reason,” “Another reason,” and “In conclusion” makes the organisation explicit. This is effective, though the linking is somewhat formulaic. The first body paragraph combines a cause with its solution, while the second gives a cause and a solution, so the pattern is broadly consistent but the relationship between each proposed action and its cause could be made clearer. Use more precise referencing and transitions to connect ideas, and avoid repeating “recycle” and “waste” where a clear pronoun or paraphrase would work.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for the topic, including “segregate,” “strict policies,” “harmful impact,” and “creating awareness.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and the meaning remains clear despite some inaccurate or unnatural expressions. For example, “negative effective” appears to be a word-form error, “waste recyclement” is not a natural term, and “maximum capacity” does not fit naturally with recycling. There are also spelling errors in “prision” and “repetitive” (in the intended phrase). Aim for accurate collocations and check spelling, especially when using less common vocabulary. More precise terms such as “recycling rates” would make the argument sound more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a conditional example (“If anyone is caught…”) and a purpose clause beginning “By teaching children at school…”. Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “One of the main reason” needs plural agreement (“reasons”), and “laws that forces” should be “laws that force.” In “Individuals do not segregate the waste they produce at home and dispose all their waste,” the second verb needs an object marker (“dispose of”). The conclusion also has a sentence-fragment-like opening: “In conclusion, the absence of strict laws and education, individuals…” needs a linking structure such as “Because of the absence…”. Greater accuracy in agreement and sentence construction would strengthen the range already attempted.

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