Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-12
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 4.5)
Recycling has become a hotly debated issue in society. some individuals argue that not enough of the garbage from houses is recycled. They believe that legal requirement is the only path to increase recycling for government. In this essay, i will present the reasons supporting my viewpoint and address potential counterarguments.
Some people believe that laws are required for public to recycle most of the waste due to the fact that without any laws people can recycle their waste anywhere at anytime which may cause any harm. It may also harmful for ecosystem because it leads to different types of pollution. recycling can cause any upset
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0
The student attempts to address the prompt by discussing whether laws are necessary to increase household recycling. However, the response is severely underdeveloped and incomplete, primarily due to the severe length deficiency. At only 106 words, it falls far short of the 250-word minimum requirement. While a basic position is stated in the introduction ("in this essay, i will present the reasons supporting my viewpoint"), the body paragraph trails off incoherently and fails to properly develop any arguments or provide relevant examples. Consequently, the task is only addressed in a minimal way. To improve, the writer must ensure all parts of the prompt are fully discussed with extended ideas, supported by relevant examples, and meet the minimum word count.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.5
The essay is divided into short paragraphs, attempting an introduction and a body section. However, the overall organization breaks down quickly. The cohesive devices used are very basic, and the final sentence of the text is incomplete and disconnected, indicating a lack of logical progression. Referencing and paragraphing are poorly managed because the text stops abruptly mid-thought. To achieve a higher band score, the writer needs to ensure that ideas flow logically from one sentence to the next, utilizing a wider range of cohesive devices accurately and maintaining fully formed paragraphs that develop a cohesive line of argument throughout the response.
Lexical Resource — Band 4.5
The vocabulary used throughout the response is very basic and repetitive. Words such as "garbage", "houses", and "things" demonstrate a limited lexical range suitable only for simple communication. Furthermore, there are noticeable word choice and collocation issues, such as "cause any upset" and "harmful for ecosystem". Basic capitalization errors are also present, such as starting sentences with lowercase letters ("some individuals", "i will present"). To improve lexical resource, the student should focus on learning and accurately employing less common academic vocabulary, appropriate collocations related to environmental issues, and correct capitalization rules.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5
The student attempts some complex sentence structures, such as conditional or causal clauses ("due to the fact that without any laws people can..."), but these attempts are frequently flawed and poorly controlled. There are several grammatical errors, including missing articles ("legal requirement is the only path"), punctuation issues, and a lack of capitalization for the personal pronoun "i". The presence of sentence fragments, such as the final sentence ("recycling can cause any upset"), heavily detracts from grammatical accuracy. To raise this score, the writer must demonstrate better control over simple and complex sentence forms and eliminate basic punctuation and capitalization errors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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