Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-06

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 individuals believe that trash is not recycled in the huge amount. Moreover, they address the only way to rose recycling is for authorities to make it a legal necessity. I believe more strict laws should be implemented to make citizens recycle their garbage. This essay highlights the primary causes of recycling with problem solution to tackle it.

To begin with, in today's world as we can see the increasing waste materials have in each houses. It is essential to recycle the trash into a useful product and publish the strict laws to do it. Majorities of the waste come from the usage of plastic because it very convenient and cheap. Moreover, the residents also have a huge proportion of food waste due to this the mosquitoes attracts and diseases such as, malaria and dengue fever take places.

To address these solutions, government play a crucial role by implementing strict laws. For instance, they can encourage people to use less plastic products, they can introduce schemes of exchanging garbage into money and many more. In addition, self awareness is also important in people that they should decrease the usage of plastic and introduce eco-friendly products such as, paper bags, glass bottles and bananas leaves plates. These kind of small changes make the huge impacts to preserve world and reduce disease.

In conclusion, it is true that recycling system is not popular in many countries due to this many issues come across. For these authorities should make a hard decisions to reduce these kind of problems such as, encouraging people to use less plastic , exchanging policies and many more. However, self awareness is also crucial in many ways to reduce waste.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the need for legal requirements in recycling. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. While you mention plastic waste and health issues, the link between these problems and the necessity of legislation could be more deeply explored. The introduction states the essay will highlight 'primary causes of recycling with problem solution', which is slightly off-topic as the prompt asks for your opinion on the necessity of laws, not a general analysis of recycling causes. To improve, ensure each paragraph directly supports your stance on whether laws are the most effective solution compared to other methods like education.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use some cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the logical progression within paragraphs is occasionally disrupted by awkward phrasing, such as 'due to this the mosquitoes attracts'. The use of referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult to determine exactly what 'these' or 'this' refers to in certain contexts. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between ideas would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and sophistication. There are several instances of unnatural word choices or incorrect collocations, such as 'rose recycling' (instead of 'increase'), 'publish the strict laws' (instead of 'enact' or 'implement'), and 'bananas leaves plates'. While the meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is limited, and there is a tendency to repeat basic terms like 'huge' and 'strict'. To reach a higher band, focus on using more academic collocations and precise terminology related to environmental policy and waste management.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('mosquitoes attracts', 'diseases... take places') and incorrect article usage ('the usage of plastic', 'the recycling system'). Additionally, some sentence constructions are awkward, such as 'in each houses'. While the errors do not completely prevent understanding, they are frequent enough to be noticeable. Focusing on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article usage will significantly improve the accuracy of your writing.

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.