Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-11-11

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Concern for the environment is growing and more and more people are choosing to recycle. But some people suggest that recycling is not enough. They believe we need to consume less.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.

Student answer (Band 6.0)

Global warming and loss of animal habitat are just 2 of the issues caused by waste and littering. However, many believe this issue can be tackled by recycling or reducing consumption.

Recycling provides the potential waste with a second chance to be useful, almost like a revival. This involves in transorming waste into something useful, eg: emplty soda cans into pen holders or old newspapers into decorative items. Recycling reduces the amount of waste significantly, however some argue that recyling doesn't eliminate the waste completely, it only reduces it; leaving the problem largely untackled.

On the other hand, some belive that less consumption can handle this problem. This could be a good way to eliminate pollution and eventually environmental concers, reducing usage not only cuts the total initial waste but also prevents wastage, only the needed amount is out to use.

In conclusion, i believe that a combination of recycling and reduced consumption could help tackle the environmental problems as the initial waste would be cut down dramatically and the remaining waste would be put to another use, leaving the environment with less harm and keeping the surroundings cleaner than before.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both views and give a clear opinion in the conclusion: recycling can reuse remaining waste, while consuming less reduces waste at its source. However, the discussion is only partial and the ideas are under-developed. The recycling examples—turning cans into pen holders and newspapers into decorations—are relevant, but do not explain the wider environmental impact. The point that recycling leaves some waste “largely untackled” also needs clarification or support. Your explanation of reduced consumption is brief and would benefit from a specific example and a fuller comparison of its advantages. The response is 59 words below the required minimum, which limits the space available to develop the arguments. Extend each view with reasons and relevant examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction, separate paragraphs for recycling and reduced consumption, and a conclusion that brings the views together. Phrases such as “On the other hand” and “In conclusion” make the main stages easy to follow. This meets the lower-band expectation of clear overall organisation and shows some of the flexibility associated with stronger cohesion. However, links within paragraphs are less secure. In the recycling paragraph, “however” joins claims whose relationship could be explained more explicitly, and the final clause beginning “leaving the problem” is awkwardly attached. The second body paragraph also moves quickly from reducing consumption to preventing wastage. Develop the links between claims and use clearer referencing so each point follows naturally from the previous one.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “recycling,” “consumption,” “waste,” “pollution,” and “animal habitat.” Phrases such as “a second chance to be useful” and “initial waste” show attempts to express ideas beyond basic vocabulary. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unclear, including “potential waste,” “handle this problem,” and “the needed amount is out to use.” There are also noticeable spelling errors, such as “transorming,” “emplty,” “recyling,” “belive,” and “concers.” These do not prevent the reader from understanding the main argument, but they reduce precision and polish. Choose more natural environmental collocations and proofread carefully; for example, describe waste as being “reprocessed” and consumption as being “reduced.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, and the main meaning is generally clear. For example, the sentence beginning “Recycling reduces the amount of waste significantly” combines a claim with a contrasting point, while the conclusion uses a conditional structure to explain the benefits of combining approaches. Some grammatical and punctuation errors remain. The opening sentence uses “2” where a number written in words would be more appropriate in formal prose, and the fragment “leaving the problem largely untackled” is not smoothly connected to the preceding clause. The sentence about reduced consumption also has an unclear construction: “only the needed amount is out to use.” Capitalise “I” in the conclusion and check sentence boundaries, especially around the long final sentence. These issues rarely obstruct communication, but clearer clause construction would improve accuracy.

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