Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

In many nations, individuals do not recycle the rubbish even though they could so. There are several reasons behind this, one is that people do not have enough awareness about the recycling process and also lack of capabilities. The several steps should be taken to do this one is the government role and the local authorities plays a paramount role.

On one hand, people do not have environmental awareness about the rubbish how it can affect their lives in many ways. The garbage may produce environmental pollution and a lot of disease for citizens. There should be proper separate bins for each garbage labelled with the picture or name and this make easy for the citizens what stuffs should be thrown out there. For example, the other countries rather than Pakistan have proper system for garbage recycling because they have separate bins for all goods.

On the other hand, several steps should be taken to overcome this problem. The government should take responsibilities about this, Local authorities should involved, and laws be made about garbage. For instance, there are several countries that put fine on throwing garbage on the roads. This law should be in Pakistan as well so that people could strictly follow these rules. Government should educate people through schools and different campaigns.

In conclusion, for recycling the rubbish there should be proper awareness and government and local authorities should involved in this process so that they can teach people about the benefits of this. They should provide the the capabilities and facilities as well.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both parts of the question: limited awareness is offered as a reason, and government action, local-authority involvement, education and fines are suggested as solutions. The examples of labelled bins and penalties for littering help make the response relevant. However, some ideas are only partly explained. For instance, you mention a lack of “capabilities” but do not clarify whether this means knowledge, time or access to recycling facilities. The comparison with other countries is also broad and does not show how their systems improve recycling. To develop the response further, explain the practical barriers people face and connect each proposed measure directly to changing recycling habits.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, separate body paragraphs and a conclusion. The contrastive signposts “On one hand” and “On the other hand” help distinguish the discussion of causes from solutions, and examples are placed near the relevant points. However, the progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear: the first body paragraph moves from awareness to pollution and then to bins without fully explaining the links. Some transitions are mechanical, and references such as “this” and “this one” do not always identify a precise idea. Organise each paragraph around one main point, then explain and illustrate it in sequence, using clearer links between cause, consequence and solution.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “environmental pollution,” “separate bins,” “local authorities” and “campaigns,” so the main ideas are understandable. There are also attempts at more formal expressions, such as “paramount role,” although this phrase is not quite natural in context. Several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, including “lack of capabilities,” “produce … a lot of disease” and “throwing garbage on the roads.” These choices make some points less precise, even though the overall message remains clear. Aim for more natural combinations and specific terms for recycling barriers and actions; for example, distinguish between access to facilities, public awareness and waste-sorting practices.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “bins … labelled with the picture or name” and a conditional idea in “so that people could strictly follow these rules.” Meaning is generally recoverable, but errors in agreement, verb forms, articles and sentence construction occur across the response. Examples include “the local authorities plays,” “local authorities should involved,” and “this make easy.” The opening sentence also joins several ideas with a comma, making its structure difficult to follow. Practise checking subject–verb agreement and ensuring that verbs after modal verbs use the base form. Breaking long or loosely joined sentences into complete clauses would improve accuracy and readability.

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.