Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-16

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 6.5)

While it is found that domestic garbage is not as much reprocessed as it should be, they claim the only way to accelerate the process is by law enforcement. While it is true to some extent, it holds no value if people do not have any access to the proper infrastructure. Mass population also need to be educated properly via different initiatives to bring an effective change in this regard.

It is generally found that people just discard the used material without taking into account the consequences it would bring, ranging from health issues to global level pollution. While the major responsibility is held by local administration in terms of enforcing laws and regulations to stop people from polluting the environment, other factors also need to be addressed. One of them is the availabilty of proper infrastructure and processes to recycle the used goods. Laws fail if people do not have any access to bins or local sorting facilities. Once the access is guaranteed, people would have a greater sense of responsibility and accountability. Fines can then be imposed if people do not abide by the rules. For instance, Germany has made laws to discard plastic bottles via a proper channel, incentives are also given to people returning a certain number of bottles per month.

The other pivotal factor is the awareness campaigns run by local adminstrations. Community based initiatives like Cleanliness Marathon Race to spread awareness among populaions can bring a meaningful chnage in this regard. Proper use of social media can be way more effective as it is percieved to successfully gather the engagement of respective audience.

In conclusion, as much as laws are needed to stop a community get polluted from household garbage, equal importance should be given to the availability of materials and processes required to reuse the waste items.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear: laws can help, but they are not sufficient without recycling infrastructure and public education. You address the main parts of the question and support your view with relevant points, including access to sorting facilities, fines, awareness campaigns, and the German bottle-return example. This gives the response a clear, relevant argument. However, some ideas are more asserted than developed. For example, the claim that access to bins creates greater responsibility would be stronger with an explanation of how convenient collection changes household behaviour. The campaign example is also quite general. Develop one or two examples further and explain how they show the relative importance of legal requirements, infrastructure, or education.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: the introduction states your position, the body paragraphs discuss infrastructure and awareness, and the conclusion restates the main argument. Linking expressions such as “One of them” and “The other pivotal factor” help signal the progression. To make the organisation more fluent, reduce reliance on formulaic transitions and make the relationship between ideas more explicit. For instance, the sentence about fines follows the discussion of access, but the shift from enabling recycling to penalising non-compliance could be signposted as a sequence. Some references are also broad, such as “this regard” and “the process”; naming the specific issue again would make connections clearer. These refinements would build on the sound overall structure and make cohesion less noticeable.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “reprocessed,” “infrastructure,” “sorting facilities,” “incentives,” and “awareness campaigns.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and some less common expressions show an effort to write in an academic style. However, several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “Mass population,” “local adminstrations,” and “stop a community get polluted.” Spelling slips, including “availabilty,” “populaions,” and “percieved,” also reduce precision. Aim for natural, accurate combinations rather than more elaborate phrasing: for example, “the general public” is clearer than “Mass population.” Proofreading spelling and checking collocations would make your vocabulary more controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex structures, including concessive clauses (“While it is true to some extent…”) and conditional forms (“if people do not have any access…”). The meaning is generally understandable, and the response includes some well-formed sentences. Some grammatical errors remain, however. In “Mass population also need,” the subject and verb do not agree; “the population also needs” would be correct. The construction “stop a community get polluted” needs a different pattern, such as “prevent a community from being polluted.” There are also awkward sentence boundaries, particularly in “For instance, Germany has made laws…, incentives are also given…,” where two independent clauses are joined with a comma. Review agreement, verb patterns, and sentence punctuation while retaining your attempts at complex sentences.

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