Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-05

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 5.0)

Nowadays, some people claim that limited quantity of the waste from homes is recycled. They say that the one way to increase recycling government should make it a law. Although many might agree with this statement. I completely agree with this notion, noy only because of government laws can force people to recycle and awareness and proper recycling. This essay will explore how these factors justify my opinion.

Firstly, the factor that compelled me to agree with this statement is goverment laws can force people to recycle their household waste. If the government makes recycling a legal requirement and imposes fines on people who do not follow the rules, they are more likely to recycle regularly. For instance, in some countries people have to seperate plastic, glass and paper into different dustbins, and those who fail to follow rules may receive a fine. As a result, the amount of household waste can be reduced significantly.

However, i believe that laws alone are not enough to increase recycling. Another important factor is to educate people about the environmental benefits of recycling and provide seperate recycling bins in residential areas. For example, if school and local authorities teach people how recycling protect the environment and provide recycling bins than recycling increase frequently. Therefore, government laws should be combined with public awarenes and better recycling. Hence, awareness about environment is better choice to protect environment.

To sum up, mostly people claim that not enough of the waste from homes is recycled. They claim that govenment should legal action about recycling. I think its a better way to increase the recycling waste.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Please note that the response is 244 words long, falling slightly short of the 250-word minimum requirement. Regarding task fulfillment, the essay addresses the prompt only partially. While a position is stated, it lacks clear and consistent development throughout the response. Ideas are somewhat limited and repetitive, such as the frequent restatement of the introductory premise in the conclusion rather than synthesizing main points effectively. The arguments concerning government legislation and public awareness are introduced, but they remain under-developed with basic explanation and limited supporting detail. To reach a higher level, you should fully explore all parts of the prompt with well-extended arguments, ensure all ideas are thoroughly explained with relevant examples, and carefully meet the minimum word count without copying directly from the task prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays some overall organization with paragraph breaks, but it lacks a clear overall progression from beginning to end. While basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'However', and 'To sum up' are employed, they are sometimes mechanical or used inaccurately, as seen in the confusing transitions in the introduction ('noy only because of government laws can force people'). Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal logical flow within paragraphs is occasionally disrupted by abrupt shifts in thought, such as the sudden pivot in the third paragraph. Referencing is also occasionally unclear. To improve coherence and cohesion, you need to ensure that every sentence links logically to the next, use a wider and more natural range of cohesive devices without over-relying on basic connectors, and maintain a clear, progressive line of reasoning throughout the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate for the task, allowing the main message to be conveyed despite noticeable errors. You attempt some less common vocabulary, such as 'significant', 'environmental benefits', and 'residential areas', but these are accompanied by frequent word choice, collocation, and word form errors, such as writing 'seperate' instead of 'separate', 'govenment' instead of 'government', and awkward phrases like 'recycling increase frequently' and 'legal action about recycling'. Spelling errors also occur. To achieve a higher band for lexical resource, you should aim to use a wider range of vocabulary with greater precision, improve your command of collocations and word forms, and pay closer attention to spelling and accurate word selection in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The essay demonstrates a limited range of grammatical structures. While there are some attempts at complex sentences, these are frequently faulty and contain grammatical errors. Examples include structural awkwardness like 'the one way to increase recycling government should make it a law' and issues with articles, prepositions, and subject-verb agreement, such as 'mostly people claim' and 'how recycling protect the environment'. Punctuation errors also appear, including a sentence fragment in the introduction ('Although many might agree with this statement. I completely agree...'). These frequent errors can cause some difficulty for the reader. To progress, you must increase your range of grammatical structures, ensure complex sentences are constructed accurately, and focus on eliminating basic errors in agreement, articles, and punctuation.

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

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