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 the recent years, recycling has become an important topic that bothers both the individals and countries everywhere. People finally realized that our existence on this earth is highly dependent on how clean and unpolluted we keep it. Therefore, some countries have ruled some major laws and regulations to encourge people to recycle more. Nevertheless, alot of countries did not take these steps, and recycling is not looked for by the citizens this much.

Nowadays, people are totally consumed by their day to day life. Therefore, advancements made to make their life easier, such as plastic bottles, is widely used. They aren't aware that these bottles will be the main reason for some marine life will extint, like the turtles for example. As the pollution increases, our life on this earth will at risk. More importantly, people are not taught about managing their remains and waste in an less harming way. So, a collective awarness about pollution among people is highly needed.

To solve that, recycling enthauists started by classifying the home wastes. It was observed that plastic is extremely harmful to the environment. As a result, some continents such as Europe enforced a no-plastic policy for the shopping bags and straws, in order to limit their use. On the other hand, some people started to use eco-friendly materials, such as wood and glass. For example, Japan introduced a mandatory rubbish classification and full recycling process to the nation.

Finally, to increase the rubbish recycling, countries and indivials some work hand by hand to save our environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions: you suggest that busy routines and limited awareness contribute to low recycling, and you mention education, restrictions on plastic, and rubbish classification as possible responses. These are relevant ideas, but the explanation is only partly developed. For example, the claim that people are “totally consumed” by daily life is not clearly connected to why they fail to recycle, and the Japan example is named without explaining how its system changes behaviour. The opening also makes broad claims about laws in some countries without distinguishing these from countries where recycling remains low. To strengthen the response, explain the causes more directly and show how each proposed measure would improve recycling.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction to causes, possible solutions, and a brief conclusion. Paragraphing helps the reader identify these sections, and linking expressions such as “Therefore,” “As a result,” and “For example” show attempts to connect ideas. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear: the discussion moves from busy lives to plastic bottles and then to marine life without fully explaining the links. Some transitions, including “On the other hand,” do not express a clear contrast. The final sentence is too brief to bring the main points together. Use clearer cause-and-effect links, make each paragraph develop one central point, and refer back to the question in the conclusion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “recycle,” “pollution,” “eco-friendly materials,” and “rubbish classification,” and you attempt some less common expressions such as “collective awareness.” This gives the response a suitable environmental focus. However, spelling errors and imprecise or unnatural combinations are noticeable, for example “individals,” “encourge,” “extint,” and “recycling is not looked for.” Phrases such as “some major laws” and “a no-plastic policy” are also not expressed precisely. These choices sometimes make the intended meaning less clear, even though the general topic remains understandable. Check spelling carefully and learn common collocations, such as “introduce regulations,” “raise awareness,” and “recycle household waste.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, using clauses with “that,” “as,” and “in order to,” as well as cause-and-effect structures. The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in sentence construction and grammatical forms recur. For instance, “plastic bottles, is widely used” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “the main reason for some marine life will extint” does not form a correct clause. In “our life on this earth will at risk,” the verb is missing, and “in an less harming way” has an incorrect article and structure. Work on agreement, complete verb phrases, and clause patterns, then proofread each sentence to ensure that its subject and verb fit together.

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