Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-06

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people claim that not enough of the waste from homes is recycled. They say that the only way to increase recycling is for governments to make it a legal requirement.

To what extent do you think laws are needed to make people recycle more of their waste?

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

Student answer (Band 5.0)

some people may thinking is not enough of the waste from home is recycled, and they want goverment to make a laws about reycling. however, i really agree about this, goverment should make a laws about recycled at home.

firstly, most of the waste will happen at home . as simple as the food that we not finish eat and we can make a fertilizer and use for plant. As a result, we can make a good garden at home.

secondly, we need laws for make people can recyling their waste that also good for them. example, the bottles, or bag that we can recycled and we can earn money from the things we recycled.

in conclusion, in my opinion is really a good way to make a laws about recycled. many people also can use their waste for a good way.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response4.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy4.5
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You take a clear position in favour of laws, stating that the government “should make a laws” and repeating this view in the conclusion. You also offer relevant examples: food scraps could become fertiliser, while bottles and bags might be recycled for money. However, the response addresses the issue only minimally. It does not explain why legal requirements are needed, how they would increase recycling, or whether other measures could also help. The examples are mentioned but not developed, and the conclusion adds little beyond restating your opinion. The response is also 108 words below the required minimum, which leaves too little space to explain and support your ideas. Develop each reason with a clear explanation and a specific example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs beginning with “firstly” and “secondly,” and a conclusion. These paragraph breaks help the reader identify your main points, and the ideas generally relate to recycling. However, progression within the paragraphs is limited: the food-waste example moves quickly from unfinished food to fertiliser and then a garden without explaining the connection in detail. Linking phrases such as “as a result” and “in conclusion” are used, but the overall development remains repetitive, especially as the conclusion repeats the position from the introduction. To improve, organise each body paragraph around one reason, explain it step by step, and use clear references to connect examples to the argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use basic vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “waste,” “recycled,” “food,” “fertilizer,” “bottles,” and “bag.” This is enough for the reader to identify your general subject and examples. However, the range is limited and several word choices or forms are inaccurate, such as “recycling” where you mean the act of recycling, “recyling,” and “use their waste for a good way.” These errors sometimes make the intended meaning less clear, and repeated use of “make” and “good” limits precision. Build a small set of topic-specific expressions, such as “separate household waste,” “compost food scraps,” and “introduce penalties,” and check spelling and word forms before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

Your writing relies mainly on short, simple statements, with a few attempts to connect ideas using “and,” “that,” and “as a result.” This gives the response some basic sentence variety, but control is weak: errors are frequent and can make sentences difficult to interpret. For example, “some people may thinking” has an incorrect verb form, while “the food that we not finish eat” is missing grammatical elements. Articles and agreement are also problematic in “make a laws,” and the opening sentence has unclear clause structure. Capitalisation and punctuation are inconsistent, including lowercase sentence beginnings and spaces before full stops. Practise accurate simple sentences first, then add controlled clauses such as “because” and “which” to explain your examples.

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.