Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-08
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)
Waste management is becoming more common in many developing countries, with many people believing it is more effective than traditional dumping of waste at dumping sites. I strongly agree with these people because it can reduce pollution in those developing countries.
Firstly, recycling bins should be placed in many public areas in order to reduce plastic pollution and every individuals must insure that minimum trash or garbage should be dumped at dumping sites and proper waste management would be insured by the respective department. This is because in most of the public areas, people use more plastic materials like, bottles, shopping bags, and much more. This initiative must be taken by respective governments to make there country clean and green.
Moreover, installing recycling bins would also decrease the unemployment at mass level and the paramount thing is that it may also decrease many diseases that can cost many lives. Government must provide safety measures to public and to their employees. In addition, as on citizens demand, governments also make recycling a legal requirement. People also insure that wherever they saw any reusable thing, they must reuse it or throw it in a recycle bins placed in public areas.
In my opinion, every developing countries should must make recycling a legal requirement and also make a law for every individual that plastic materials such as bottles must be thrown in recycling bins. I hope this initiative should be legalized as soon as possible, so it our world would be saved from global warming and many hazardous climate changing.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You take a position in favour of making recycling a legal requirement, especially in the conclusion: “every developing countries should must make recycling a legal requirement.” You also offer relevant measures, such as placing recycling bins in public areas, and mention possible environmental and health benefits. However, the response only partly answers how necessary laws are: it does not explain why voluntary action or other approaches would be insufficient, and several claims—such as recycling bins reducing unemployment—are not explained or clearly connected to the question. The opening focuses on waste management generally rather than directly establishing your view about legislation. Develop a few relevant reasons with specific explanations or examples, and keep the discussion centred on the role of laws.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a concluding opinion. Linking expressions such as “Firstly,” “Moreover,” and “In addition” help signal new points. However, the ideas do not progress consistently: the first body paragraph moves from bins to individual responsibility and government action, while the second combines unemployment, disease, safety, public demand and reuse. Some connections are unclear, and “this initiative” does not identify precisely which measure it refers to. The conclusion repeats the position but introduces global warming without developing that link earlier. Organise each paragraph around one main reason, explain it in sequence, and use references and transitions that make the relationship between ideas explicit.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “recycling bins,” “plastic pollution,” “dumping sites,” and “legal requirement,” and you attempt less common expressions such as “paramount” and “hazardous.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, which makes parts of the argument difficult to follow. “Waste management is becoming more common” does not clearly express the intended comparison, and “decrease the unemployment at mass level” is an awkward collocation. “Insure” is repeatedly used where “ensure” is intended, while “recycle bins” and “climate changing” are also imprecise forms. Aim for accurate, natural collocations rather than adding formal-sounding words; this will make your meaning clearer and your vocabulary more effective.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including clauses introduced by “because” and “in order to,” but control is inconsistent. Errors occur in basic agreement and verb forms: “every individuals must,” “every developing countries should must,” and “governments also make” do not use appropriate forms. Articles and plurals are also problematic in phrases such as “a recycle bins” and “every individual.” Some long sentences join several ideas without clear grammatical structure, particularly the sentence beginning “Firstly, recycling bins should be placed.” These errors sometimes make relationships between ideas hard to understand. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement, modal constructions, articles and singular/plural forms, then divide complex points into shorter sentences where needed.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.