Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-05

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)

Recycling the waste is the most effective was to manage waste disposal produced in the areas such as homes and commercial places. Numerous individuals believe that most of the waste from the commercial places are not recycled and suggests that government should take the initiative by making it a legal requirement. This essay intends to explore the main reason behind the agreement or disagreement in the forthcoming paragraphs with relevant examples. However, i partially agree with the statement.

The first and the foremost reason behind my agreement is that, people nowadays are having a very busy schedule due to which they either forget or do not feel the importance for recycling the waste which can be recycled. However, it can cause a huge problem for the mankind in future. As if they won't recycle the waste it would get accumulated in surroundings and may cause damage to the environment, thus government should take the initiative to protect the nature by making it a legal requirement and also by enforcing a fine for that as well. Moreover, recycling would be helpful in numerous ways for instance, it may save a person's money in buying items such as water bottles, planters, bags, and many more as oneself can just recycle the one they had.

On the flip side, not always the government had to take the initiative but the humans should also know there responsibilities towards the mother nature as it provides a large number of valuables to humankind, thus protecting it must be under the control of each and every citizen. Nowadays there are recycling bins being installed by the government in the streets to make the recycling of such material easy. A survey conducted by the 'Oxford University' also stated that 95% of people does not like to recycle the material as they feel they may re-buy them and it is outlandish to use the older one every time so they want to use the new one every time.

In conclusion, in the wake of above, it can be easily, logically and clearly be concluded that there are a large number of initiatives which can be taken by the government to make people use recycling as a most required task. Although it should also be the responsibility of the each individual to follow the instructions provided to them by the government.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, providing a clear position that is partially in agreement with the necessity of legal requirements. The ideas are relevant, such as the mention of busy lifestyles and the role of individual responsibility. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat uneven. For instance, the argument regarding the 'Oxford University' survey is a bit vague and lacks a strong connection to the core argument about legal enforcement. To reach a higher band, ensure that each supporting point is fully explored with more depth and logical progression rather than just listing reasons.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'The first and the foremost reason', 'Moreover', and 'On the flip side'. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, and the referencing is occasionally imprecise, such as the use of 'the one they had' or 'the material'. While the progression of ideas is generally clear, the flow between sentences could be improved to make the connections feel more natural and less forced.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'accumulated', 'outlandish', and 'initiative'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'most effective was' (should be 'way') and 're-buy them' (referring to recycling). The range is sufficient to convey meaning, but more precise and varied vocabulary would be needed to move into the higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('95% of people does not like') and incorrect pronoun usage ('there responsibilities' instead of 'their'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage and capitalization of 'i'. These errors occur throughout the text, though they do not typically impede communication. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and refining complex sentence construction.

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.