Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-09

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 6.0)

Most of the environmentalists debate that domestic waste recycling rates tend to be insufficient and suggest that imposing strict legal mendates is the only reliable and practical method to improve compliance. Government legislations play a vital part in altering public behaviour. Laws alone are not the only solution to this and they must be involved with public awareness and areas allocated for such act to achieve long-term success.

On the other hand, to ensure public behaviour, government needs to take a strict law-based action to reinforce such activity in the country. Without legal consequences, most of households prioritize convenience over sustainability, converting massive amount of recyclable material to landfills. When government introduce mandatroy recycling regulations backed by financial legislations, this would produce a massive behaviour change among people's recycling practices in a positive manner. For instance, countries like UK and Germany have their specific colour-coded recycling bins where residents need to assemble their items according to the bin colour. In case of law violation, residents need to face substancial fines. As a result, these nations boost among the highest recycling countires.

However, relying solely on legislation is rarely entirely effective if public lacks to understand the comply. At first, governments need to make sure about their infrastructure to be used properly for recycling. If one country lacks such color-coded bins and reliable collection services, enforcing a law becomes punitive and worthless. Secondly, educational camphaigns are essential to foster practical civil responsibility When citizens know the impact of the specific act on their surrounding, only then they get a sense of responsibilty and do it in a responsive way. For examples, school workshops and activity-based trainings encourage youth to recycle without imposing strict rules to do so.

In the end, imposition of laws and regulations solely is not the key aspect to be concerned of. In addition to this, administration must be accountable for providing citizens with suitable infrastuctures and knowledge to permenantly change recycling rates.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear: laws can encourage recycling, but they are not sufficient without infrastructure and education. You address both sides and support your points with examples, including colour-coded bins and school workshops. This is a relevant response to the question. Some ideas, however, are less fully developed than others. The claim that the UK and Germany achieve among the highest recycling rates is asserted rather than explained or supported, and the discussion of fines does not clarify how enforcement would work in practice. The point about public understanding is also somewhat unclear. To strengthen the response, explain the mechanisms behind your examples and develop how legal requirements should be combined with accessible services and public education.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a coherent overall structure: an introduction states your position, two body paragraphs consider legislation and its limitations, and the conclusion restates your view. Signposting such as “On the other hand,” “However,” and “In the end” helps readers follow the argument. Within paragraphs, though, some links feel mechanical or do not express the relationship precisely. “On the other hand” introduces support for laws rather than a clear contrast, while “At first” and “Secondly” make the infrastructure and education points sound like a sequence. Some references are also unclear, as in “the specific act” and “do it.” Use transitions that match the logic, and make each paragraph’s central point and supporting explanation connect more explicitly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “recyclable material,” “legal consequences,” “sustainability,” and “civil responsibility.” These choices show an effort to discuss the issue beyond basic terms. However, noticeable spelling, word-form, and collocation errors reduce precision and sometimes make the reader pause. Examples include “legal mendates,” “government legislations,” “financial legislations,” “camphaigns,” and “infrastuctures.” Some phrases are also unnatural, such as “boost among the highest recycling countires” and “understand the comply.” Aim for accurate, natural combinations rather than more elaborate wording: for example, use “introduce mandatory recycling rules,” “impose fines,” and “achieve high recycling rates.” Proofreading spelling and checking collocations would make your vocabulary more effective.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures such as “If one country lacks such colour-coded bins…” and a concession in “if public lacks to understand…”. This gives the response some structural variety, and the main argument is generally understandable. Some errors in sentence construction, agreement, articles, and punctuation remain. For example, “When government introduce” needs a plural subject or an article and matching verb; “most of households” needs an article; and “When citizens know…, only then they get…” has an awkwardly constructed clause. The sentence ending “civil responsibility When citizens…” also needs punctuation. Review subject–verb agreement, article use, and clause boundaries, then check that complex sentences remain grammatically complete.

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