Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

In a few countries, people say there is no need to recycle anything in household waste at all. Others say that it should be possible to meet the legal requirements set by the governments. In this essay, it is necessary to encourage people to understand the importance of recycling things by education and experience.

One reason is that people would not recycle things voluntarily. The main effect is that it contributes to environmental issues. Only the government can pass a law to recycle waste. who do not follow the rules given by the government can be fined. The recycled things are paper, glass, and many other forms of waste. For example, the governments of Germany and France have passed this law.

Individuals try to understand that this is a serious environmental issue. Throwing waste in the landfill makes it valuable and affects the population. It is beneficial for your generation in the future. However, another failure is that in some areas there is no facility to throw the waste in the dustbin. The government gives funds to provide these amenities to individuals. For example, in Lahore and Karachi, the most common problem is the lack of dustbins; people throw the waste on the roads, which is a very serious issue for recycling the waste.

In conclusion, it is very important for recycling waste at the household level to increase the environment issuse seriously. To encourage people with education and experience to clean the environment. For example, in Islamabad, people know about the importance of cleaning the environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt but lacks a clear, consistent position. While you mention that education is important, you also discuss the necessity of laws, making your stance on 'to what extent' somewhat ambiguous. The ideas are relevant but often under-developed; for instance, the claim that 'throwing waste in the landfill makes it valuable' is confusing and lacks logical support. To improve, ensure each paragraph focuses on a single, well-explained argument that directly answers the extent of the need for legislation. The conclusion introduces new ideas (Islamabad) rather than summarising the main points of the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the logical flow between sentences is often disjointed. For example, the transition from discussing government fines to the types of waste recycled is abrupt. Cohesive devices are used, but they are sometimes mechanical or misused, such as the phrase 'another failure is that' which does not clearly link to the previous argument. Paragraphing is present, but the internal structure of the paragraphs lacks a clear progression of ideas, making it difficult for the reader to follow your line of reasoning throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'things' and 'waste' repeatedly. There are also some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'increase the environment issuse seriously' and 'makes it valuable', which do not convey your intended meaning clearly. To reach a higher band, focus on using more academic vocabulary related to environmental policy and waste management, and ensure that your word choices are contextually accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede communication. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'who do not follow'), missing articles, and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'it is very important for recycling waste... to increase the environment issuse'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence construction often feels repetitive or fragmented. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence patterns and proofreading for common errors like missing prepositions and incorrect verb forms.

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

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