Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-12

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 5.5)

Waste management has become a major concern in mankind for over several decades now. It is important for every human being to clean their surroundings and make the world a better world for everyone. As technology has advanced so far in recent years, we should come together to create something which helps in reduce the waste we make. This essay will shed light on the examples on how making new laws can help in recycling waste and its limitations.

To begin with, laws are important creating awarness among the individuals and its importance. Furthermore, laws creates discipline among the people and makes it a habit for them to recycle their waste to clean the surroundings clean. Moreover, implementing new laws makes it easier to reuse the old things and save natural resources as we can reuse the the plastic and paper after recycling it.

On the other hand, by just implementing these laws does not solve all the problems, the government should also implement strict surveliance in hot-spot areas and also reward the individuals who help in recycling the waste. Moreover, giovernment should also impose strict laws and stop filling lands with toxic waste.Furthermore, government should also start educating people and make them understand the importamce of recycling and let them know whats at stake.

In counclusion, taking initiatives is great but implementing them are hard. Laws already exists but nobody follows them, that is because nobody is aware about what is at stake and its dark side. Campaigns should be running, leaders should address their people and make them understand. Then imposing new laws would make more sense.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both the role of laws and the need for other measures, and your position becomes clearest in the conclusion: laws may help, but education and public awareness should come first. Relevant points include building recycling habits, reusing plastic and paper, surveillance, and rewarding participants. However, the response does not consistently answer how necessary laws are: the introduction promises examples, but no specific example is developed, and claims such as “laws creates discipline” are asserted rather than explained. The conclusion also says existing laws are not followed without showing why or how this supports your view. State your degree of agreement directly and develop fewer points with clear explanations or a concrete example to make the response more complete and convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting different considerations, and a conclusion. Paragraphing helps the reader follow the broad movement from benefits of laws to their limitations. You also use signposts such as “To begin with,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion.” However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical: several ideas are added with “Moreover” or “Furthermore” without showing how they relate. The shift from household recycling to toxic waste and filling land is not clearly connected to the question. Some references, such as “its dark side,” are vague, and the conclusion repeats awareness and campaigns rather than synthesising the argument. Use clearer links between claims and explanations, and make each paragraph develop one central point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “recycle,” “natural resources,” “toxic waste,” “surveillance,” and “campaigns,” so the main subject is clear. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “implementing new laws” and “impose strict laws.” However, the range is limited and some word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive: “clean their surroundings clean,” “creating awarness,” and “laws creates discipline” weaken fluency. Spelling errors such as “surveliance,” “giovernment,” “importamce,” and “counclusion” are noticeable. Aim for precise, natural combinations and check spelling carefully; for example, distinguish “raise awareness” from “create discipline,” and avoid repeating “world” or “laws” when a more specific term is available.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a conditional clause in “as we can reuse the plastic and paper after recycling it” and a contrastive opening with “On the other hand.” However, the range is limited, and complex structures are often not controlled accurately. Examples include “laws are important creating awareness,” where the verb pattern is incomplete, and “by just implementing these laws does not solve,” where the subject and verb structure are faulty. There are also agreement and form errors in “laws creates” and “laws already exists,” as well as punctuation problems where sentences run together after “waste.” Work on complete clause structures, subject–verb agreement, and sentence boundaries. More accurate control of these patterns would make your ideas easier to follow.

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