Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-02
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,there are few people who think that the amount of waste recycled from homes is not enough. The only solution for it is that the governments make it a legal requirement. By comsidering recent situations,I think that making some laws were mandatory for it.
The problem of not to recycle the waste was far more bigger than it looks. Beacuse it creates a ripple effects of problems. Problems like insanitation,increase in viral diseases,and many other were originated from it. For example,in past years, the amount of waste recycling in India was very low as compared to developed countries. As a result, the effect of viral diseases in Indian people were too high. Also their living standards were also compromised by it. So, the waste recycling is not just a one problem but it is a basis of multiple other problems also.
Because the problem of waste recycling is far more serious than it looks, so it is mandatory for the governments to introduce strict laws for it and make it a legal requirement. As, if we continue on our example of India, when the Indian government saw the problem of waste recycling seriously, multiple serious actions were taken on it. First of all, the Indian government make it compulsory for muncipality to collect the waste from homes and dump it into dumpyard and then they offer multiple private and public bodies to set up recycling plants and the government subsidies them. The government also launches 'SWACH BHARAT ABHIYAN' to encourage and enlight the people about waste recycling. As of result, today India is one of the waste recyclers of the world and the problem of waste recycling is also decreased in it.
To conclude that, not to recycle the is not just a single problem but it is the ground from where multiple other problems originates. So it is the governments duty to make the waste recycling a legal requirement.
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 position that laws are necessary. However, the ideas remain somewhat limited and under-developed. For example, while the student mentions India as an illustration, the supporting points regarding public health and government measures rely on sweeping generalizations rather than deeper extension or detailed analysis. The main body paragraphs state ideas without fully expanding on their broader implications or counter-arguments, which places the response firmly within the band descriptor for partial task addressing with limited development.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays a basic overall organization with identifiable paragraphs, including an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Nevertheless, there is a lack of clear overall progression, and the logical flow between ideas is frequently hindered by mechanical or awkward transitions, such as 'By comsidering recent situations' and 'As, if we continue on our example of India'. Cohesive devices are sometimes inaccurate or overused, and referencing is occasionally unclear, which prevents the essay from achieving a more fluid narrative progression. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion within paragraphs requires tighter logical links.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate for discussing the topic of home waste and recycling. The writer attempts some less common expressions, such as 'ripple effects', 'insanitation', and 'subsidies', but these are accompanied by noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and form, such as 'far more bigger' instead of 'much bigger', 'dumpyard', and 'enlight' instead of 'enlighten'. Spelling errors like 'comsidering' and 'Beacuse' also occur, and while communication is generally maintained, these lexical inaccuracies restrict the score to this band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response features a very limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple and basic complex forms. Attempts at more complex structures are frequently faulty, marred by frequent errors in grammar, articles, and verb agreement. Examples include 'making some laws were mandatory' instead of 'making some laws was mandatory', 'the effect of viral diseases in Indian people were too high', and missing or incorrect articles ('not to recycle the is not just a single problem'). Punctuation slips, such as missing spaces after commas (e.g., 'Nowadays,there'), are also persistent. These frequent errors cause occasional difficulty for the reader.
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