Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-18

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 6.5)

Recycling is a basic requirement for managing domestic waste. Some individuals believe that household waste is not recycled in an adequate quantity and the effective solution is that governments should take some legal actions to make recycling of domestic litter compulsory. I largely agree that laws can play an integral role in increasing recycling rates.

To commence with, strict laws encourage people to recycle because they create a sense of responsibility. In this fast-paced era, many people do not recycle as they are busy balancing their personal and professional lives so they lack time management, rather than recycling the used products they prefer to purchase new ones to save time. If higher authorities implement penalties and take strict legal action to impose the law of recycling domestic trash, this will result in a change in citizens' behaviour and they will become more responsible for managing their domestic waste

Moreover, most of the citizens have limited knowledge, how to recycle their household waste. A plethora of individuals are not aware of the process of recycling, they do not know how to separate waste in different categories and where should they send these recycling waste. So, government should run awareness programmes to make citizens aware about the waste management. Higher authorities can run a special recycling garbage collecting vehicle to collect domestic recyclable litter. As a result, this will decrease the amount of trash significantly and create a positive long-term environmental benefits. Additionally people will become aware how to manage their household garbage.

In conclusion, I firmly agree that government should take effective legal measures, make laws, impose penalties and run awareness programmes to make citizens more responsible and aware about the benefits and the process of recycling the domestic waste.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of legal requirements for recycling. The ideas are relevant, particularly the discussion on responsibility and the need for government-led awareness programs. However, the development is somewhat uneven. While the first body paragraph effectively links legal action to behavioral change, the second paragraph shifts focus toward education and infrastructure, which, while relevant, slightly dilutes the argument regarding the necessity of laws. To reach a higher band, ensure that every point made directly supports the central thesis regarding the extent to which laws are needed, rather than listing general solutions to recycling issues.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, the flow within paragraphs is occasionally mechanical. For instance, the transition between the lack of knowledge and the suggestion for awareness programs could be smoother. Additionally, the referencing is sometimes slightly repetitive. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the progression of ideas is generally easy to follow, though the connection between the legal requirement argument and the practical infrastructure suggestions could be more tightly integrated to improve the overall cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate and appropriate for the task. You have used some good collocations such as 'fast-paced era', 'integral role', and 'domestic waste'. There are some minor inaccuracies, such as 'recycling waste' instead of 'recyclables' or 'recyclable materials', and 'recycling garbage collecting vehicle', which is slightly awkward. The range is sufficient to convey your ideas clearly, but to achieve a higher band, you should aim for more precise and sophisticated vocabulary to avoid repetitive phrasing and to demonstrate a more flexible control over word choice and collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical slips. For example, 'most of the citizens have limited knowledge, how to recycle' lacks a preposition ('knowledge of how to recycle'), and 'where should they send these recycling waste' contains an error in word order and pluralization. Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some run-on sentences and comma splices. The majority of your sentences are understandable, but the frequency of these minor errors prevents the essay from reaching the higher bands where error-free complex structures are more consistent.

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