Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-10-04

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)

There is a ongoing debates regarding the concern of environment, where most people prefers to recycle, while the others claimed that recycling is not enough and people should actually consume less. This essay argues recycling should be prefered because burning plastic can cause greenhouse gases which affect human health. However, recycling is not enough if the consumption is higher. moreover the not everything can be recycled, so people should consume lesser.

Recycling used plastic materials has been on of the biggest contributor to fight against environmental destruction. As burning plastic not only affect environment but also human health causing respiratory diseases. For Example: according to World health organization 34% of the respiratory related diseases are caused due to release of greenhouse gases, while burning plastic can contribute to releasing green house gases. So, people should recycled their plastic waste intead of burning it.

However, recycling is not enough if the production of waste is higher. Especially country with higher population where people produce tons of plastic waste daily and the recycling company cannot cover all of it. For example: India has one of the highest population in the world, where there is plenty of waste in every corner of the street, its not because their is no recycling company, while it is actually due to the higher number of waste producers. So, people should consume lesser.

Regarding personal opinion, recycling is not enough because not everything can be recycled. So, people need to use in less quantity, For example babies diaper cannot be recycled so, the parents need to use alternative like soft cloth piece that can be washed and re-used.

In conclusion, recycling can also help to fight back the environmental destruction. However, recycling is not enough thats why people need to use in less quantities or use other alternative that can be used again.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on recycling and consumption, and a clear personal opinion is presented. However, the development of ideas is uneven. While the arguments regarding plastic waste and respiratory diseases are relevant, some points are under-developed or lack full clarity, such as the brief mention of how consumption levels outpace recycling. The position is maintained throughout, but the reasoning in places is slightly repetitive, which keeps the response within the level where some parts are addressed more fully than others.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraphing structure dividing the introduction, body paragraphs addressing recycling and consumption, and a conclusion. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and referencing is not always clear, particularly in transitional phrases like 'moreover the not everything can be recycled'. Cohesive devices are used, but their application can be somewhat repetitive or basic (such as the frequent reliance on 'For example:'), lacking the smooth and flexible progression expected at higher bands.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying the writer's core message about environmental concerns and waste management. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'respiratory diseases' and 'environmental destruction', but these are accompanied by some word-choice and word-form inaccuracies, including phrases like 'consume lesser' instead of 'consume less', and spelling errors such as 'intead' and 'thats'. These lexical slips do not impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the arguments without major difficulty.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though the range of structures remains somewhat limited. There are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, including articles ('There is a ongoing debates'), subject-verb agreement ('most people prefers'), and prepositional use within phrases. Punctuation issues, such as comma splices ('its not because their is no recycling company, while it is actually due to...'), occur regularly. While communication is rarely completely blocked, these recurring structural inaccuracies impact readability.

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