Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-14

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)

Nowadays, many people believe that recycling of household waste products are not possible sufficiently without the Government's intervention. According to them legal law is required to make it practice. In this regard I believe that law is required to implement in our society along with people awareness. The reason behind this is explained in the following paragraphs alongwith adequate examples.

To begin with, the individuals in our surroundings have not enough knowledge regarding reuse of waste products. the people dont know the pros and cons of recycling process. For example. presently various awareness campaigne are conducted by the government and Social welfare organizations. As the saying goes 'where there is a will there is a way'', People should come forward to increase recycling for betterment of the society and humanbiengs as well.

Furthermore, Government should introduce a law to promote the recycling process so that residents are bound to do the same. If some one violate this law they may be punished. In addition, there some opportunities may be to provided to the people who are interested to selling the recycled products in market . For instance, the students in Jadavpur University make the holy colours from the flowers. these are eco-friendly and not harmful for our skin.

In my opinion, only Law is not sufficient for increasing recling of waste products We should strike a balance between Public awarness and implementation of laws.

In conlusion, Goverment should take the responsibilty to implement law and as well as conductingpublic awareness program

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a relevant, consistent position: laws are needed, but they should be combined with public awareness. The response also includes reasons and examples, such as awareness campaigns and students making colours from flowers. However, the discussion only partly answers how far laws are needed. The first body paragraph focuses mainly on limited knowledge and awareness, while the second says residents should be bound by law and may be punished, but does not explain how enforcement would work or why it would change behaviour. The example from Jadavpur University illustrates reuse, but its connection to legal requirements is not made explicit. Develop the comparison between education and legislation, and explain why each is necessary, to make the argument more fully supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. The ideas generally move from lack of knowledge to government action, and signposts such as “To begin with,” “Furthermore” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the main stages. However, some links are mechanical, and the progression within paragraphs is not always clear. For example, the proverb about willpower follows the point about awareness campaigns without explaining how it supports the argument, and the move from legal penalties to selling recycled products needs a clearer connection. The conclusion repeats the position but does not draw together the two reasons. Use linking phrases to show cause, contrast and consequence, and make each paragraph develop one central point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “household waste,” “recycling process,” “eco-friendly” and “awareness.” These choices make the subject clear, and phrases such as “strike a balance” help express your position. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation and spelling errors make parts of the response less clear, including “legal law,” “awareness campaigne,” “humanbiengs,” “recling” and “conductingpublic.” Some expressions are also unnatural, such as “opportunities may be to provided” and “interested to selling.” Aim for accurate, natural combinations such as “introduce legislation,” “raise public awareness” and “sell recycled products.” Proofreading spelling and choosing precise topic-related phrases would make your argument easier to understand.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional sentence: “If some one violate this law they may be punished.” This shows an effort to explain consequences, and most of the main ideas can be understood. However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors in agreement, articles, verb forms and sentence boundaries recur. For example, “recycling of household waste products are” should use a singular verb, while “the people dont know” needs an appropriate capital letter and apostrophe. “There some opportunities may be to provided” has an unclear and incorrect verb structure, and the final sentence lacks clear punctuation. Practise building accurate subject–verb–object sentences first, then add subordinate clauses and check each sentence for agreement, verb form and punctuation.

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.