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)
A wide range of people believe that there is a shortage amount of waste are recycled properly .They assuming that in order to increasing recycling rate government should make it a legal requirement. I think it is a positive development cause it will encourage people to turn their waste into useable product.
First of all, There is a several types of benefit of recycling. It is not only crucial for sustainable development but also a beneficial step to make environment free from pollution. If government emphasis people for recycling it can lead a better outcome for society. Making it as a legal requirement help individuals to know more about processing of recycling. As a result ,people may conscious about waste disposal and they would not throw them here and there.
On the other hand government alone cannot make a proper success without support of the individuals. To help the authority, they can create an event about recycle products . Schools or university may play a vital role by making prograammes where they can show how recycling actually works even they can make a poster or advertisements through social media for awareness .The best approach is working together with government can actually lead a significant consequences for the betterment of the society.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response addresses the prompt only partially, and importantly, it fails to meet the minimum length requirement of 250 words, coming in at only 211 words. Your position is presented in the introduction, where you state that making recycling a legal requirement is a positive development, but the ideas throughout the body paragraphs remain limited and under-developed. For instance, you mention benefits of recycling and community events, but these points lack full extension and specific support. To achieve a higher band, you need to write at least 250 words and develop your arguments much more fully with detailed explanations and concrete examples.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
There is some organisation evident in your response, with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, but overall progression is lacking. Cohesive devices are sometimes inadequate, inaccurate, or overused, such as repetitive transitions like 'First of all' and 'On the other hand'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the logical flow between sentences and ideas often stumbles, making referencing sometimes unclear (e.g., 'To help the authority, they can create an event'). To improve your coherence and cohesion, ensure you use a wider and more accurate range of cohesive ties and maintain a clear, logical progression throughout every paragraph.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
Your vocabulary range is limited but minimally adequate for the task. You make noticeable errors in word choice and word form, such as 'shortage amount of waste are recycled', 'useable product', and 'people may conscious'. These errors cause some difficulty for the reader. There are also spelling issues like 'prograammes'. To move up to a higher band, you must expand your vocabulary range, use less common lexical items with greater precision, and ensure proper word forms and accurate spelling throughout your writing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response demonstrates a very limited range of structures, relying mostly on simple sentences, while attempts at complex sentences are often faulty. Frequent errors in grammar and punctuation can cause difficulty for the reader, including issues with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'waste are recycled'), missing articles, and awkward prepositional phrases (e.g., 'lead a better outcome', 'emphasis people for recycling'). Punctuation errors are also present, such as spaces before commas. To reach a higher band, you need to incorporate a wider variety of complex grammatical structures with a higher frequency of error-free sentences.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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