Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-29

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)

Everyday, people in normal households use a lot of things but there is not much awareness about recycling of used essentials. It includes items like plastic bags, water bottles, small bottles of syrups, used slippers, lunch boxes or normal wooden boxes, and some other items. These can be used again if recycled.

When I was in School, I used to carry a lunch box with me which I liked very much. It had a very cool design and a picture of Cristiano Ronaldo which is my favourite fototball player. My friends praised my lunch box and it was a very cool collectable of mine. One day, I was wearing my school bag and while I was walking towards my car, my bag's handle tore off and it fell down. Inside it was my lunch box and when it hit the ground, the impact was so hard that its lid broke and it could no longer be used which made me really sad but I started using it again by applying some tape on it instead of throwing it away. This made me realise that if we reuse the items rather than throwing them away, we can save a lot of money.

At the same time, making it a legal requirement can be a little too much because there is not much awareness about recycling waste from homes. The better approach is to first do some campaigns about it and create a public vote if the general public is interest in this activity. It is not illegal to recycle the waste but lacks awareness as I have mentioned earlier.

To conclude, creating awareness about recycling waste items and doing campaigns could act as a medium to make it a good initiative which will make people adopt this practice and thus, it will also result in a good environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You give a relevant view that awareness campaigns are preferable to making recycling a legal requirement, and the damaged lunch-box story illustrates reuse in a personal way. However, the response only partially answers the question: it does not clearly explain how far laws are needed, or weigh their possible benefits against the drawbacks. The anecdote focuses on repairing one item rather than recycling household waste, so its connection to the prompt is limited. The suggestion of a public vote is also not explained as a practical way to increase recycling. Develop your position directly—for example, explain whether laws should be used alongside education, and give a specific example of how a rule could change household behaviour.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction to a personal example, then an opposing consideration and a conclusion. Linking phrases such as “At the same time” and “To conclude” help signal these stages. However, progression is uneven: the long lunch-box anecdote takes up much of the response without clearly advancing the argument about laws, and the final paragraph largely repeats the call for awareness. Some connections are unclear, particularly the move from the story about repairing an item to the claim that awareness is the main issue. Use each paragraph to develop one argument, and add explicit links explaining how examples support your position. This would make the overall organisation more coherent and reduce repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary, including “recycling,” “legal requirement,” “campaigns,” and “public awareness,” and the reader can generally understand your meaning. There is also an attempt to use topic-specific examples such as “plastic bags” and “water bottles.” However, the range is limited and several expressions are imprecise or unnatural, including “recycling of used essentials,” “a good initiative,” and “adopt this practice.” Spelling errors such as “fototball” are noticeable, while “cool” is repeated and is too informal for this essay. Aim for more precise environmental vocabulary and natural collocations, such as “household waste,” “recycling schemes,” and “sort waste for collection.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and longer sentences, including a complex sentence beginning “When I was in School” and a conditional structure in “if we reuse the items … we can save a lot of money.” These show some range, and the main message is usually understandable. However, errors in sentence construction and agreement recur. For example, “if the general public is interest” should be “if the general public is interested,” and “It is not illegal to recycle the waste but lacks awareness” has an unclear subject in the second clause. The long sentence about the lunch box also joins several events with “and,” making it difficult to follow. Practise accurate clause boundaries, subject references, and verb forms while varying sentence patterns.

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