Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-04

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)

In this contemporary era, recycling waste is a major topic in public due to higher usage of plastic. few citizens argue that wastage collected from households are not properly recycled and government are only who can take proper measures to tackle these problems. I largely agree to this notion. There are several ways that government should take to ensure proper management such as increase recycling facilities and fines on mismanagement. These ways will be discussed in further statements.

To commence with, it is often observed that government entities lack in their work which can be resolved by government. First and foremost, increase in number of facilities of recycling so every city will have their own plants so their should be no transportation and their will be no need to dump waste in outskirts of city and it will boost recycle process. Moreover, there should be strict laws for recycle process which will increase fear among the workers and if someone mismanage their process they should be fined and if they have long record of inefficiency they should be suspended.

Furthermore, there should be a special department for illegal dumping sites because there are some criminals who capture the wastage transporting truck for their own profit and then this wastage in dumped in an empty ground. Admittedly, there are some aspects where public is liable for improper recycling. Some residents throw garbage in nearby area of their own society which becomes unable to pick for workers then that place gradually becomes pile of garbage and seems improper management.

In conclusion, authorities have power to ensure proper management and they should be properly regulated by government.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt and presents a clear position agreeing with the need for laws, but the ideas are developed only to a limited extent. While the writer mentions increasing recycling facilities and introducing fines, these concepts are not fully explored or supported with concrete examples. For instance, the discussion regarding government entities lacking in their work and the mention of illegal dumping sites remain somewhat vague and lack detailed explanation. To reach a higher standard, the writer needs to extend their arguments further, providing specific examples or scenarios that illustrate how legislation directly influences household recycling habits and industrial practices.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic logical progression and the essay is divided into paragraphs, yet overall cohesion feels mechanical and sometimes repetitive. Cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'First and foremost', and 'Furthermore' are used to structure the text, but referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases like 'which can be resolved by government' where the antecedent is ambiguous. Paragraphing is attempted, but ideas within the body paragraphs tend to run together without smooth transitions between sentences. To improve, the writer should ensure that each paragraph focuses on a single, well-linked central theme and employ a wider, more natural variety of cohesive links rather than relying on formulaic transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate to communicate the central message, but the range is limited and contains noticeable errors. There are frequent lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'wastage collected from households', 'boost recycle process', and 'mismanage their process', where word forms and collocations are unnatural. Spelling and word choice errors, such as 'in dumped in an empty ground' instead of 'dumped', occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader. To achieve a stronger band, the writer should incorporate less common lexical items accurately and pay closer attention to word formation, precise phrasing, and standard collocations related to environmental topics.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text displays a very limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple sentences and basic complex forms that frequently contain errors. There are frequent grammatical mistakes regarding articles, subject-verb agreement, and prepositions, such as 'government are only who can take', 'increase in number of facilities of recycling', and 'in nearby area of their own society'. Furthermore, attempts at complex sentence structures often result in faulty grammar and punctuation that can cause difficulty for the reader, such as run-on sentences lacking appropriate punctuation. To progress, the writer must focus on improving control over basic grammatical structures, ensuring accurate use of plurals, articles, and verb tenses while attempting a wider variety of error-free complex sentences.

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