Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-08-17

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)

Environmental awareness has increased in the recent years, as the results recycling has become a common practice. However, while some people believe that recycling alone can solve the environmental problems. And other people argue that we should reduce our overall consumption. I agree that both are important but reducing consumption is ultimately more effective.

Those who support recycling argue that it is a practical way to deal with the waste. By reducing the materials like plastic, glass and papers, we can reduce the amount of rubbish sent to landfill and conserve the natural resources. For example, in many European countries, governments recycling programs have significantly cut down household waste. Furthermore, recycling encourages people to be more environmentally responsible without requiring major change to their lifestyle.

On the other hand, critics claims recycling alone does not address the root cause of the problem that causes the environmental damage. Producing new goods even some materials are later recycled, still required large amount of energy, water and raw materials . If people continue to buy new products constantly, the demand for manufacturing will remain high, leading to pollution and resource depletion. For instance, fashion industry produce million of clothes each year, and even with textile recycling the environmental impact remain severe.

In my opinion, recycling should be seen as secondary solution. While it helps to manage waste, the most sustainable approach is to consume less in the first place. If individuals buy only what they need, avoid single-use products and choose durable products, we can significantly reduce the environmental pressure.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the benefits of recycling and the necessity of reducing consumption. Your position is clear from the introduction and is maintained throughout the essay. The ideas are relevant and generally well-supported, such as the mention of the fashion industry to illustrate the limitations of recycling. However, some arguments could be further extended to reach a higher band; for instance, the explanation of why reducing consumption is 'more effective' could benefit from more specific detail or a stronger concluding synthesis. Overall, the task is well-handled with a clear, logical progression of ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the two viewpoints. You use a range of cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Furthermore', 'On the other hand', and 'For instance' to link ideas. While the flow is generally smooth, there are minor issues with sentence-level cohesion, such as the sentence fragment 'And other people argue...' which should be connected to the previous sentence. Despite these minor mechanical slips, the progression of ideas remains clear throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, including terms like 'environmental awareness', 'natural resources', 'resource depletion', and 'sustainable approach'. There are some minor errors in word choice and form, such as 'as the results recycling' (should be 'as a result, recycling') and 'critics claims' (should be 'critics claim'). Additionally, 'producing new goods even some materials are later recycled, still required' contains grammatical and collocation errors. While you attempt to use more sophisticated vocabulary, these occasional inaccuracies prevent the score from being higher.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you successfully use complex sentences to express your ideas, there are several recurring grammatical errors. Examples include 'in the recent years' (should be 'in recent years'), 'governments recycling programs' (should be 'government recycling programs'), and 'fashion industry produce million of clothes' (should be 'produces millions of clothes'). These errors are frequent enough to be noticeable but do not impede the overall communication of your argument. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and pluralization.

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