Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-10-12

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 6.5)

Growing concerns about protection of environment have motivated people to recyle the waste products. Many believe that recycling is the best possible solution to reduce wastage, while other argue that consumption of non-essential goods should be limited. Although, recycling reduces the amount of waste accumulated in landfills, I strongly believe overconsumption is the key factor leading to environmental disaster.

Firstly, recycling is an important factor to protect the integrity of environment as it lessens the amount of wastage gathered in a landfill or corners of domestic streets. Low number of resources and raw materials are needed, if people choose to recycle rather than to produce waste. For instance, if companies recycle water bottles, there will be less need for using trees to make more plastic.

Secondly, overconsumption of goods is also a major contributor to pollute our environment. When people use new products after a single use, it increases the burden on resouces and raw materials. It is also a major contributing factor of financial constraints, as transportation, logistics and labor force is required for gathering raw materials and resources for newly made products. A notable example includes the usage of shopping bags, if we use same plastic bag while going to grocery or shopping, it can potentially reduce the number of wastage we produce.

Overall, Recycling and re-usage both are key contributors to protect and sustain the environment. I personally believe over-consumption of daily use products impose more burden on environment and resources. Companies must prefer to recylce products, and people should use their things again and again to reduce the destructive effects on environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both views and make your own position clear: recycling can reduce landfill waste, but you see overconsumption as the more serious cause of environmental harm. The examples of recycling bottles and reusing shopping bags are relevant, and the conclusion restates your view. This meets the task well, but the two sides are not developed equally. The recycling paragraph makes a broad claim about saving resources, while its example about trees and plastic bottles is unclear; the discussion of consuming less is more specific but shifts partly to financial constraints rather than explaining environmental effects. To strengthen the response, explain the environmental impact of producing and transporting new goods, and develop the recycling argument with a precise example and explanation of its limits.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “Overall” make the progression easy to follow, and the central position remains consistent. However, these transitions are somewhat mechanical, and some links between claims and examples need to be clearer. For instance, the sentence about financial constraints interrupts the environmental focus of the second body paragraph, while the connection between recycling water bottles and reducing the need for trees is difficult to follow. Use more precise referencing and connect each example directly to the point it supports. This would make the argument flow more naturally and reduce reliance on formulaic signposting.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “landfills,” “raw materials,” “overconsumption,” and “transportation,” which helps communicate the environmental argument. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “integrity of environment” and “destructive effects.” However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, including “reduce wastage,” “burden on resouces,” and “contributor to pollute our environment.” Spelling slips such as “recyle” and “recylce” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more natural combinations, such as “reduce the amount of waste,” “place a burden on natural resources,” and “contribute to pollution.” Greater precision in describing environmental impacts would make the vocabulary more flexible and effective.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex structures, including a concessive opening with “Although” and conditional clauses such as “if people choose to recycle.” Most ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors occur. For example, “other argue” needs subject–verb agreement, and “over-consumption … impose” should be “imposes.” Articles and sentence construction also need attention: “protection of environment” requires an article, while “A notable example includes the usage of shopping bags, if…” joins ideas awkwardly and needs clearer punctuation or restructuring. Capitalisation is inconsistent in “Overall, Recycling.” Practise checking agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries, while continuing to use varied sentence forms; this will improve accuracy without sacrificing complexity.

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