Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Nowadays, recycling has become a major concern in many parts of the world. Some individuals argue that legal government laws are the only solution to enhance waste recovery as less household waste is recycled. I partly agree with this view because only laws are not enough, there should be some responsibility of the individuals to tackle this issue.

On the one hand, government can play important role by make legal laws and enforcing them. This is because it will encourage people and develop a habit of recycling among citizens. For instance, governments should plot recycling bins with clear labels to make people more aware of waste recovery. Furthermore, they can offer mini rewards that would make people more willing to do recycling. Therefore, government rules can aware citizens and motivates them to recover household waste.

Nevertheless, I believe that individual responsibility also plays an important role because recycling depends on people personal habits. This is because people decide if they want to throw away waste or do reprocessing of waste. For instance, a person who don't have a habit of recycling may find it difficult to later develop it rather than a person already having it. Moreover, there should be public awareness campaigns for people to understand the importance of reprocessed waste. Consequently, this should be responsibility of citizens to ensure waste recycling.

In conclusion, although legal laws and requirements are beneficial because they motivates and encourages people, I believe that individual responsibility and public awareness has an equal importance as people should be aware of recycling importance.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task, presenting a clear position throughout the essay. The student states a partial agreement, arguing that while government laws are beneficial, individual responsibility is equally crucial. Ideas are appropriately extended and supported with relevant examples, such as the use of recycling bins and public awareness campaigns. However, some arguments, particularly regarding personal habits, tend to generalize slightly and could have been developed with a bit more depth. Overall, the task is well handled and meets the criteria for Band 6.5 to 7.0, ultimately fitting comfortably into Band 6.5 due to slight under-development in the supporting body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear, logical progression of ideas from the introduction through the body paragraphs to the conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct central topic. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand,' 'Nevertheless,' 'Furthermore,' and 'In conclusion' are employed to guide the reader through the argument. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally a bit mechanical, and some linking phrases feel repetitive, which keeps the response at a solid Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'waste recovery,' 'household waste,' 'reprocessed waste,' and 'public awareness campaigns.' There are, however, some noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'plot recycling bins' instead of 'install or place recycling bins' and 'do reprocessing of waste.' Spelling and word formation are generally accurate, and vocabulary errors do not impede communication. This performance aligns well with the Band 6.0 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination with structures like 'This is because people decide if they want...' and 'although legal laws... are beneficial because they motivates...'. However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward structures throughout the text, such as 'government can play important role by make legal laws' (article omission and gerund error), 'rules can aware citizens and motivates them' (verb form errors), and subject-verb agreement issues like 'public awareness has an equal importance'. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they occur frequently enough to preclude a higher band.

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