Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-30
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)
It is claimed by some people that garbage management for household waste is not enough and state should make it a legal rule to increase the recycling. It is very necessary to make laws against this issue.
Overall, it is a major problem in many countries and by making rules for the particular issue it could be resolved while increasing the capacity of the processing plants.
In particular laws could give a guideline for many organizations and authorities so it would be necessary for them to expand their size and limit as this would become a national priority and a major issue. For example, many privately owned waste management facilities try to keep the cost low while taking much funding from the departments by the government stepping in this could change their priorities.
On the contrary, many major recycling plants are nationalized and have major funding issues which cannot be fixed completely by the government rules while could enhance their ability to function by getting more allocation of funds from the budget. For example, the Cantonment Board of Kamra was allocated only 100 million pkr for fiscal year 2025 while it required more than 10 times the amount to get a more solid processing and collection facility which made it a serious among the society and the board members.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses the prompt by discussing the necessity of laws for recycling. However, the essay is significantly under the 250-word minimum requirement (219 words), which limits the depth of the argument. While the position is clear, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. The example regarding the 'Cantonment Board of Kamra' is specific, but the connection between government funding and the legal requirement for recycling is not fully articulated. To improve, you should expand on the counter-arguments and provide more detailed explanations for your main points to ensure the response is fully developed and meets the length requirement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into paragraphs, and there is a basic logical flow. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and occasionally repetitive. For instance, the transition 'In particular' and 'On the contrary' are used, but the internal links between sentences could be smoother. The referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the connection between 'this issue' and the preceding sentence is vague. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would enhance the overall coherence.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on general terms like 'major problem' and 'major issue' multiple times, which limits the sophistication of your writing. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'make laws against this issue' and 'get a more solid processing'. To achieve a higher score, try to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to environmental policy and waste management, and avoid repeating the same adjectives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. For example, 'state should make it a legal rule' lacks an article, and 'while could enhance their ability' is grammatically incomplete. There are also issues with punctuation and sentence fragments, such as 'which made it a serious among the society'. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focus on subject-verb agreement and ensuring all clauses are complete.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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