Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-17

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)

Some people argue that too little household waste is recycled and that governments should make recycling a legal requirment. I partially agree with this view because laws can encourage people to recycle, but education and convenient facilities are necessary.

On other one hand, laws can be an effective way to increase recycling rates. Many people are aware that recycling is significant but may not make effort to separate their waste. If governments make recycling compulsory, households would have to follow certain rules, such as separating plastic, paper, glass and food waste. People who repetedly break these rules could receive a fine. As a result, legal requirnments could encourage more people to develop regular recycling habits. Moreover, such laws would make recycling a shared responsibility rather than something that only environmentally conscious people do.

On other hand, laws alone may not solve the problem. Governments should also provide suitable recycling facilities and educate the public. For example, if separate recycling bins are available near homes and waste is collected regularly, people are more likely to recycle. Schools and public compaigns can also explain how recycling reduced pollution and saves natural resources.

In conclusion, I believe that laws can play a salient role in increasing household recycling, particularly by making its compulsory and introducing a reasonable penalties.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the role of laws and the necessity of education and facilities in increasing recycling rates, maintaining a clear position throughout. However, the response has a significant limitation regarding length: it contains 215 words, which falls well short of the 250-word minimum requirement for Task 2. Because of this under-length status, the development of ideas is somewhat curtailed. For instance, the discussion on fines and public campaigns is relevant and addresses parts of the task, but it lacks the full extension and depth expected for higher bands. Due to the incomplete word count penalty combined with the resulting under-development of supporting ideas, this performance is best captured at Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay presents a clear overall arrangement with distinct paragraphs for introduction, two body paragraphs representing different facets of the argument, and a conclusion. Logical progression is generally visible, opening with phrases like 'On other one hand' and 'On other hand' (though containing grammatical inaccuracies). Cohesive devices such as 'For example' and 'As a result' are employed to connect ideas. However, referencing and transitions are sometimes clumsy or mechanical, and paragraphing could be tighter. Despite minor mechanical flaws, the text remains coherent overall, and the organisation is easy to follow, aligning closely with the Band 6 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-related terms such as 'household waste', 'recycling rates', 'compulsory', and 'natural resources'. There are, however, a few noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including 'requirment' instead of requirement, 'repetedly' instead of repeatedly, 'requirnments', 'compaigns' instead of campaigns, and the incorrect use of 'On other one hand' instead of 'On the one hand'. Additionally, phrasing like 'making its compulsory' contains minor errors. These lexical slips do not heavily impede communication, but they restrict the score to Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating the ability to construct conditional and subordinate clauses, such as 'If governments make recycling compulsory, households would have to follow certain rules...' and '...people are more likely to recycle.' There are several grammar and punctuation errors, such as 'how recycling reduced pollution' (tense error) and 'introducing a reasonable penalties' (article and pluralisation error), alongside lexical-grammatical slips in transition phrases. While these errors are noticeable, they rarely impede overall communication, meaning the text satisfies the criteria for Band 6.0.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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