Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-13

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 recent years, waste management has become cruicial part in protecting the environment. Some people believe that, maximum waste from homes should be recycled. In order to do that, government should make it a legal requirement and make laws to follow it. I believe that, people should be aware of the environment protection and management rather than implementing stricter laws.

Due to rapid population growth in India, amount of waste generated is substantially increasing. To manage this, government should conduct environment protection and management awareness programs in schools, colleges and public places. The program should also include waste management using recycling methods.

Government should make some laws to recycle the home waste. For example, when the wet waste is not used as a manure for the plants and not recycled, law should imposed on that home and stricter punishment should be given. When these methods are implemented people learn the ways of recycling the waste and get awareness of the environment protection.

Therefore, the only way to increase recycling is conducting wareness programs and implementing few strict laws.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You give a relevant position: you favour awareness programmes over relying mainly on stricter laws, and you mention education in schools, colleges and public places. The example of separating wet waste and using it as manure also relates to household recycling. However, the response only partially answers the question because it does not clearly explain the extent to which laws are needed: you first argue against stricter laws, then say governments should make laws and impose punishment, without resolving this tension. The reasons and example are also brief and under-developed. In addition, the response is 178 words, below the required 250, so there is not enough development to fully address the task. State a consistent position and explain how education and legislation could work together or why one is more important.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. The ideas generally follow a sensible order: you introduce awareness, discuss education, then consider laws and give an example. Basic linking phrases such as “For example” and “Therefore” help signal relationships. However, progression is limited, and the conclusion repeats the awareness-and-laws ideas rather than drawing together a developed argument. The shift from opposing stricter laws in the introduction to recommending laws and punishment in the second body paragraph is not clearly explained, which weakens the overall flow. Develop each paragraph around one clear point and use a linking sentence to show how your position on education relates to your view of legal requirements.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “waste management,” “recycled,” “legal requirement,” “awareness programs” and “stricter punishment.” These terms make the subject clear, and “substantially increasing” is an appropriate attempt at more formal expression. However, the range is limited, with repeated use of “waste,” “government” and “environment protection,” and some word choices or forms are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “cruicial,” “wareness” and “environment protection and management.” These errors do not prevent understanding, but they reduce precision and control. Build a wider set of accurate terms for household recycling, such as “sort household waste,” “recycling schemes” and “enforce regulations,” and check spelling and natural collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional example beginning “When the wet waste is not used…” and a purpose clause, “In order to do that…”. The main ideas remain understandable. However, control is uneven, and several sentence patterns contain errors. For example, “has become cruicial part” is missing an article, “amount of waste” needs a determiner, and “law should imposed” has an incorrect verb form. Commas after introductory phrases and before “that” are also used inconsistently. These issues, alongside a fairly narrow range of structures, keep the writing from showing stronger grammatical control. Practise accurate articles and verb forms, and use a few well-controlled complex sentences to explain causes and consequences.

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