Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-24

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 many countries there are no proper waste mangement systems and a significant amount of waste material could have used in recycling process but there are not certain rule and legislations to maintain the decorum of the process.

I agreed that there should be some rule to follow for the recycling process of waste so that it can be used to the good of the mankind such as food wastes like fruits and vegelable peels can be used in the planting procedures and plastic material should be disposed in a certain way. there should be a rule to through waste according to the quality the people need to sort the waste according to the material for instance plastic should be dipossed in a saperate bag where are paper, or any decomposeable material should be waste in a proper manner so that it can be re used.

Not only government laws are essential but there are awareness compaigns needed to held so that people who are not aware of the process can gain knowledge and follow the process otherwise this will be unfair if they will be fined for not wasting material in a proper way. As there is more unawared population in the developing countries who need trainings and awarewness compaigns which can be run by the surveys and advertisements on TVs which can help teaching them recycle waste in an appropriate manner.

A functional waste management system can be achieved if we use significant ways to educate people and also make laws for the disposal ways of the waste. It will help the country and people both in enormous ways.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you support rules to improve recycling, while also arguing that education is needed before people are penalised. This addresses the question and gives relevant examples, such as sorting plastic separately and using food waste in planting. The point that fines may be unfair when people lack knowledge adds a useful qualification. However, some ideas are not fully explained: for example, you do not show how a legal requirement would be enforced or why it would increase recycling, and the examples are mentioned rather than developed. To strengthen the response, explain the likely effects of a specific measure and connect each example directly to your view on how necessary laws are. The discussion of awareness campaigns is relevant but could be more precisely linked to the role of legislation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: it introduces the problem, presents support for rules, adds education as a complementary measure, and ends with a summary. Linking phrases such as “Not only” and “otherwise” help show relationships between ideas. However, the second paragraph contains several points in one long sequence, making the distinction between the need to sort waste and the examples less clear. Some connections are also mechanical, and references such as “this” in “this will be unfair” could be more explicit. Organise the main ideas into clearer units—for example, one paragraph on legislation and another on education—and use linking expressions selectively. This would make the progression easier to follow without changing your central argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “waste management systems,” “legislations,” “disposed,” “decomposeable material,” and “awareness campaigns.” These choices show an attempt to discuss recycling and public education specifically. However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, including “mangement,” “vegelable,” “dipossed,” “saperate,” and “unawared.” Some combinations are also unnatural, such as “used to the good of the mankind” and “waste according to the quality.” These do not prevent the main message from being understood, but they reduce precision. Check spelling carefully and learn common collocations such as “sort waste by material,” “dispose of plastic,” and “raise public awareness” so your vocabulary sounds more natural and exact.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses beginning with “so that,” “where,” and “if.” This gives the response some structural variety, and the main argument is generally understandable. However, several sentences contain grammatical problems that make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. For example, “I agreed that there should be some rule” uses an unsuitable tense for stating your current position, while “there are awareness campaigns needed to held” has an incorrect construction. The long sentence beginning “there should be a rule to through waste” also needs clearer clause boundaries and more controlled punctuation. Practise accurate verb patterns, articles, and sentence boundaries, and divide long sentences when they contain several separate points.

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.