Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-09-27

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 5.5)

Yes! in this era, i believe recycling is not enough we need to consume less. The reason is that most of the things we are using are not recyclable for example, polythene bags. Many of the countries ban them but some countries are still allow there production and there usage. So we should less their consumption as we can not recycle them.

On the other hand, people who think just recycling is enough, they have this mindset due to usage of less non-recyclable things. They mostly use recyclable things so it does not make them think to less consumption of things to make clean and green environment.

As the Worlds population is growing rapidly, we need to think about the future. In my opinion, as i said before, we need to have less consumption of things and we should stop using non-recyclable things. Otherwise if we do not less the consumption, it will increase the polution and make environment bad. In addition, it can also cause air polution and water polution.

If non-degradable things are kept increasing, we will see stacks of trash everywhere arround the world which will introduce new infections and bacterias causing sickness and illness to the people. Therefore we must less down the usage of things that we do not need, we should just use the thing that are compulsory and need of our life. Othervise the future will not be safe and it can be devasting so, we should care about these things and stop using extra materials.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views—that recycling is enough versus the need to consume less—and provides a clear personal opinion. The writer establishes a position early and maintains it throughout the essay, arguing that recycling is insufficient because many materials are non-recyclable. However, the ideas are somewhat repetitive, particularly regarding the dangers of non-degradable waste and the call to reduce consumption. While the arguments are relevant, they lack deep extension and rely on general statements rather than well-developed examples. The response meets the task requirements by covering both sides and giving an opinion, earning a solid Band 6.0 according to the descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression of ideas across four paragraphs. The writer attempts to use cohesive devices such as 'On the other hand', 'As the Worlds population', and 'Therefore', though some transitions feel a bit mechanical or simplistic. Paragraphing is used to separate the introduction, the two opposing viewpoints, and the final conclusion. However, referencing is occasionally unclear, and repetitive sentence structures disrupt the flow in places. Overall, the organizational structure is apparent and satisfies the requirements for Band 6.0, where information is arranged coherently even if some cohesive links are faulty.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate basic ideas about recycling and consumption. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary items such as 'non-recyclable', 'rapidly', and 'devastating', but there are noticeable word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'less their consumption' instead of 'reduce their consumption', and 'make environment bad' instead of 'harm the environment'. Spelling and morphological errors are also present, including 'polution' and 'arround'. These errors do not seriously impede communication, placing the response firmly at Band 5.0 due to the limited and sometimes inaccurate lexical range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional clauses ('If non-degradable things are kept increasing...') and modal verbs ('we must less down'). However, there is a high frequency of grammatical errors, particularly with verb forms, prepositions, and word classes (e.g., using 'less' as a verb instead of 'reduce'). Punctuation is also erratic, with missing commas and run-on structures like 'devastating so, we should care'. While the meaning is generally retrievable despite the frequent errors, the lack of consistent grammatical control keeps the score at Band 5.0.

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.