Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-15

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)

Some indivisuals state that most of the domestic waste is not recycled and only path to rise recycling is that government should make it legal requirment.

While, some how i agree with this point of view due to personal experiences and by talking to some indivisuals of different age groups.

If I state my own experience, whenever my sibblings buy any thing like groccery or any product which comes in transparent plastic bag they use to thorw those bags whitout even recognising its hazard and when I use to stop them they always use to say that government should ban these bags or any sort of thing by which directly or indirectly government gots the blame and there whole mentality is that if we are ordered or forced by officials then we would be doing that thing other wise there would be no great difference happenning by only me ( which is wrong but harsh reality of society).

In addition, not just my Sibblings have same thought prosses also the age group of people higher then 30 have same thought prosess. last weak me and my friends did survey to get data to know that is this the mentality of most of the people in society or just some people have this thinking but the result was expected but sad to know that most of our society had same thoughts.

At end concluding this the government should create strict rules to make people force to recycle at least domestic products which is in indvisuals hand for betterment of environment

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You take a position that government rules are needed, and your examples about your siblings’ disposal of plastic bags and your survey of people over 30 are relevant to the question. However, the response mainly describes people’s attitudes and gives little explanation of how legal requirements would increase recycling or what form those rules could take. The opening says you “some how” agree, but the extent of your agreement is not made precise, and the conclusion simply repeats that strict rules should be created. To strengthen the response, explain the likely effects of measures such as separating household waste, fines, or collection requirements, and consider whether education or convenient recycling services should also play a role. This would develop the position more fully and address the question’s “to what extent” wording.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable sequence: an introduction, personal examples, a survey, and a concluding recommendation. The examples are connected to the central topic, and phrases such as “In addition” and “At end” signal movement between points. However, the main body is presented as two very long paragraphs, with several different ideas crowded into each. The first example moves from plastic bags to blame, government orders, and social attitudes without clear sentence boundaries; the survey paragraph also repeats the claim about people’s thinking rather than advancing the argument. Some linking phrases are awkward or mechanical. Use separate, focused paragraphs and make each one develop a distinct reason, with clear references and transitions that show how the evidence supports your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some topic-relevant vocabulary, including “domestic waste,” “recycled,” “hazard,” “survey,” and “strict rules,” so the reader can follow the general subject. However, the range is limited and several spelling errors or imprecise expressions make the writing less clear, such as “indivisuals,” “requirment,” “thorw,” and “prosses.” Some phrases are also unnatural or vague: “rise recycling,” “there whole mentality,” and “no great difference happening.” Aim for accurate, natural collocations and more precise terms for the policy and its effects. Proofreading spelling and choosing standard expressions will make your ideas easier to understand and help you express the argument with greater flexibility.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt longer sentences and use clauses to explain examples, including “whenever my siblings buy…” and “when I use to stop them…”. This shows an effort to connect ideas, but complex sentences are often difficult to follow because of errors in tense, agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries. For example, “they use to throw” should be “they used to throw,” while “government should create” needs an article or plural form. The opening fragment beginning “While” is not joined correctly to the next clause, and the first personal example runs on for many clauses without clear punctuation. Practise building accurate shorter sentences first, then combine them with controlled subordinate clauses. Check verb forms and punctuation carefully so the reader can follow each point.

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

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