Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-23

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)

while few people will argue about this saying that not enough waste is being recycled from their houses. This is a very important opinion the Government should consider.

First, the government should make sure that is this proposal right for the people, i mean if this is not the right, the government would be simply wasting the resources. People should state their need explicitly to the government. Surely the government would take an action based on the people's proposal

Secondly, If the people's proposal is true, The law will definitely help the people. As it stands for the people, it can go to any extent if the demand is legit and much need, like the most priority. The government should take the necessary action to fulfill the people's need. These are the few things that government can do, The government can install recycling stations across the country or majority places based on the population so the people can go there and dump their or, the government can increase the intake of the collection of trash, like the municipality.

Law and government are for the people, to fulfill their wishes, and to their best for the country. It all depends on the purpose, position, priority.

In my opinion, i would say that the people's demand is right; due to various reasons, it can be over populated and trash is not being collected and recycled, and its being collected however its not being recycled. Every citizen would love a clean nation, waste being recycled is the best practice that would say that this is a good country and its being well maintained by the Law and Government.

AI examiner evaluation

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

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the topic but fails to develop a clear, consistent position. While you mention that the government should act, the argument is vague and repetitive. You do not sufficiently discuss the extent to which laws are needed, instead focusing on the general concept of government-citizen interaction. The ideas are under-developed; for example, you suggest the government should 'install recycling stations' but do not explain how this relates to the necessity of legal requirements versus other methods like education or incentives. To improve, ensure you directly answer the prompt's core question and provide specific, logical reasons for your stance throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. Transitions such as 'First' and 'Secondly' are used, but the ideas following them do not clearly support a structured argument. Some sentences are disjointed, and the connection between the government's role and the specific issue of recycling is often unclear. Referencing is sometimes confusing, such as in the phrase 'if this is not the right', where the antecedent is missing. To achieve a higher band, focus on using cohesive devices more naturally and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence that directly relates to your main argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is limited and often repetitive. You rely on basic terms like 'people', 'government', and 'things'. There is little attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary related to environmental policy or waste management, such as 'sustainability', 'mandatory legislation', 'incentivization', or 'infrastructure'. Some word choices are imprecise, such as 'the demand is legit and much need' or 'dump their or'. To improve, expand your range of academic vocabulary and focus on using words that are appropriate for a formal essay context rather than conversational phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally impede clarity. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'few people will argue about this saying'), incorrect sentence structure (e.g., 'i mean if this is not the right'), and punctuation errors, such as the misuse of commas and capitalization. The range of structures is limited, consisting mostly of simple or poorly connected compound sentences. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, ensuring correct verb tenses, and proofreading for punctuation and capitalization errors. Increasing the use of complex sentence structures will also help improve your score.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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