Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-07
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 this contemporary era, proper waste management and recycling has become a huge issues in today society. And critics has argued that it is time for government to making it a legal requirement to sort and recycle the waste. I largely agree not only that government should impose laws and heavy fine to regulate this problem and together with public education, awareness campaign and incentives to encouraging people to start recycling their rubbish.
To commence with, government have to pass the laws to mandate proper sorting and recycling from every household, individuals, and businesses with coordination from government bodies. When recycling become a legal requirement, only then people will have the intention and motivation to properly comply with the recycling laws. Beside that, imposing the heavy fines on those who didn't follow the recycling laws could greatly enforce it as well. For example, European countries like Germany and Denmark, recycling is heavily enforced, resulting in
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, reaching only 155 words. This significant under-length prevents the development of a full argument and results in an incomplete response. While you have identified a clear position and introduced relevant ideas such as legal mandates and public education, the discussion is cut off abruptly mid-sentence. To improve, you must expand your points with more detailed explanations and concrete examples to ensure the essay is fully developed. Currently, the task is only partially addressed due to the lack of sufficient content.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay shows a basic attempt at logical organization. You use transition signals like 'To commence with' and 'Beside that' to link ideas, which helps the reader follow the flow. However, because the text is incomplete and ends mid-sentence, the overall progression is severely hindered. Paragraphing is present, but the lack of a conclusion or a fully developed body paragraph makes the structure feel unfinished. To reach a higher band, ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and that your ideas are fully supported before moving on to the next point.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You use some relevant terms like 'contemporary era', 'waste management', and 'legal requirement'. However, there are some awkward collocations and minor errors, such as 'huge issues in today society' (should be 'today's society') and 'incentives to encouraging' (should be 'incentives to encourage'). To improve, focus on using more sophisticated vocabulary and ensuring correct word forms. Expanding your range of synonyms for common words like 'government' or 'laws' would also be beneficial.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'critics has argued' (subject-verb agreement), 'government to making' (incorrect verb form), and 'didn't follow' (tense consistency). While you attempt some complex sentence structures, they are often marred by these errors. To improve, pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement, verb patterns after prepositions, and consistent tense usage. Proofreading for basic errors like missing possessive apostrophes ('today's') will also help improve your accuracy significantly.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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