Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-26

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 4.0)

Laws are important to a great extent to encourage the people to increase recycling. In our society, people ignore recycling because they do not consider it important. Legal requirements and fines can encourage households to separate their rubish. Although, public awareness and accessible recycling facilities are important, I believe that government legislation is necessary to a considerable extent because it encourages compilance and makes households more accountable for their waste.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

You give a relevant, clear position: laws are important “to a considerable extent,” and you identify fines, household accountability, public awareness, and accessible facilities as relevant factors. However, the response does not develop these points or provide the reasons and examples the task asks for. For instance, you say fines can encourage households to separate rubbish, but do not explain how enforcement might work or illustrate its effects. The response is also substantially below the required 250 words, leaving the argument very incomplete. To strengthen it, explain the benefits and limits of legal requirements, support each main point with a specific example, and make clear whether laws are essential or should be combined with other measures.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has a basic, understandable progression: it states a position, gives a reason for low recycling, and then acknowledges awareness and facilities before restating the case for legislation. The contrast signalled by “Although” helps show that you recognise more than one factor. However, the whole argument is compressed into one paragraph, so the ideas are not separated or developed into a clear essay structure. Connections between claims are also limited; for example, the relationship between public awareness, facilities, and legal requirements is not explained. Organise the response into an introduction, developed body paragraphs, and a conclusion, using linking phrases to show how each reason supports your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “recycling,” “legal requirements,” “fines,” “public awareness,” and “accountable,” which makes your main point clear. There is also an attempt at more formal phrasing in “to a considerable extent.” However, the short response offers little evidence of range or flexible word choice, and some forms are inaccurate: “rubish” should be “rubbish,” and “compilance” should be “compliance.” The phrase “encourage the people” is also less natural than “encourage people” or “encourage households.” Build a wider set of precise terms for discussing waste policy, such as “separate household waste,” “enforcement,” and “recycling schemes,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

Your sentences communicate a consistent position, and you attempt a complex structure in “Although, public awareness and accessible recycling facilities are important, I believe…”. However, the comma after “Although” is incorrect in this construction; write “Although public awareness and accessible recycling facilities are important, I believe…”. The response relies mainly on short, simple statements, so it shows limited range in sentence structures. The opening phrase “Laws are important to a great extent to encourage…” is understandable but awkwardly arranged. Practise combining claims with subordinate clauses and giving reasons, while checking punctuation around introductory conjunctions. Greater variety and more consistently controlled sentence construction would make the argument easier to follow.

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.