Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-18
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 is the process of reusing waste products.
The unparalleled significance of recycling cannot be refuted because it has a close relevance to our lives. Some people opine that it is not enough to recycle waste at the domestic level and our government must take legal action. According to my point of view, it should be taken as a national issue and there should be some laws.
Initially, some individuals think that it is not only a domestic issue, it is a national issue. They think that the government wants to create strict laws for recycling. If waste products are not recycled they create an environmental pollution. For example, if people throw their waste in the open instead of then recycling it makes massive pollution and if the government makes laws that no one will be able to throw waste in the open area and if anyone does this they would have to pay a fine or face punishment.
While individuals should take it as a personal responsibility to recycle the waste.If people take it as a personal responsibility or the government makes too much strict laws this issue of waste material will be over in the coming time. If it is not control it will create an uncontroled situation that leads to plethora of problems in the future.
According to my point of view if the government takes legal actions then we can overcome from these problem. Government legal actions play a vital role in increasing waste recycling process. Due to strict laws no one wolud be able to throw waste in open, they send waste material for recycling.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by discussing whether governments should make recycling a legal requirement, presenting a clear personal position that laws are indeed necessary. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the argument regarding environmental pollution is introduced in the third paragraph ("if waste products are not recycled they create an environmental pollution") but lacks deep extension or varied supporting examples. The conclusion largely restates points already made without adding fresh insights. While all parts of the task are addressed, the ideas remain somewhat basic and underdeveloped, aligning closely with the Band 6 descriptors.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a discernible introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is attempted, though some paragraphs are quite brief or lack internal cohesion. Cohesive devices are used, but they are sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent reliance on phrase openers like "According to my point of view" and "Initially, some individuals think." Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in the transition from paragraph three to four where the logical flow stumbles. Overall, the structural progression is adequate for a Band 5.5 or 6, fitting well within the Band 6 descriptor where cohesion is sometimes faulty.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as "unparalleled significance," "domestic level," and "plethora of problems." However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations throughout the text, such as "create an environmental pollution," "too much strict laws," and "overcome from these problem." Spelling and word choices generally do not impede communication, but they reveal a limited control of less common lexical items. These characteristics are representative of Band 5.5, rounding to Band 6 for acceptable task coverage.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing conditional structures like "If waste products are not recycled they create..." and "if anyone does this they would have to pay a fine." However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly regarding verb tense consistency, modal usage ("no one wolud be able to"), article omission ("send waste material"), and prepositional errors ("overcome from"). Although these errors occur regularly, the sentence structures are sufficiently varied that meaning is rarely obscured, which corresponds to the Band 5 descriptor for grammar and accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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