Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-02

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 6.0)

It is widely believed that some people said that only recycling can be done from homes waste is not enough instead governments should put legal action to increase recycling. In my opinion, governments should make legal requirements on recycling, but this is not the only way to increase recycling every individual have to support goverments rules and regulations for recycling.

On the one hand, I believe that laws are necessary to encourage people to recycle more household waste. If governments make recycling compulsory and introduce fines for those who do not follow the rules, people may become more responsible for their waste. Furthermore, households could be required to separate plastic, paper and food waste into different bins. This would make waste collection easier and reduce the amount of rubbish sent to landfills. For instance, India introduced the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026, which make waste segregation into four categories compulsory. This demonstrates how government regulations can encourage households to manage their waste responsibly and improve recycling practices.

On the other hand, legislative alone cannot guarantee of substantial increase in recycling public awareness is equally important. Many people may be unwilling to recycle if they do not understand its environmental benefits or lack access to separate waste collection bins. Moreover, governments should have to organise educational campaign to provide accessibility on recycling for both young and older people. For instance, schools have to teach students about recycling and to maintain cleanliness at all the place. Also encourage them to separate waste to protect environment, this habit can help to become an responsible citizen in future. These effect combines both effective laws, would create a more sustainable recycling system.

In conclusion, I believe that governments should introduce strict laws, but public awareness is equally important to increase recycling.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear: you support legal requirements but argue that awareness and access are also needed. Both sides are addressed, and the examples of compulsory waste separation and school education are relevant to the question. The explanation that fines may encourage responsibility and sorting can reduce landfill waste gives your main argument useful support. However, some points are asserted rather than fully explained: the school example does not show clearly how education would change household recycling, and the claim that laws alone cannot produce a substantial increase could use a specific illustration. The response therefore covers the task, but develops some ideas more fully than others. To strengthen it, explain the practical link between each example and increased recycling, and clarify how laws and public education would work together.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a coherent overall structure: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs consider regulation and public awareness, and the conclusion restates your position. The contrast between “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” helps readers follow the argument, while “For instance” introduces supporting examples. However, cohesion becomes less clear in the second body paragraph, especially in “These effect combines both effective laws,” where the relationship between the ideas is difficult to follow. The school-related sentences also feel loosely connected to the preceding point about access to bins. Use clearer links to show whether each sentence gives a reason, consequence, or example, and make sure pronouns and summary phrases refer unambiguously to earlier ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “compulsory,” “fines,” “waste segregation,” “landfills,” and “public awareness.” These terms help you discuss both regulation and education, and some less common expressions show an attempt to be precise. However, several word choices or forms are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “legislative alone,” “provide accessibility on recycling,” and “These effect combines.” “Governments rules” also needs a possessive form, and “at all the place” is not an appropriate expression in this context. These slips do not prevent the reader from understanding your main points, but they limit precision and naturalness. Build accuracy by learning common collocations such as “raise awareness of recycling” and checking whether a noun, adjective, or verb is needed.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex structures, including conditional sentences such as “If governments make recycling compulsory … people may become more responsible” and a contrastive opening with “On the other hand.” These structures let you express reasons and qualifications. Some grammatical errors remain, however, and occasionally make a sentence difficult to interpret. For example, “only recycling can be done from homes waste is not enough” lacks a clear sentence structure, while “legislative alone cannot guarantee of substantial increase” has problems with the verb pattern and article use. In “every individual have to support,” the subject and verb do not agree. The final sentences of the second body paragraph also need clearer sentence boundaries. Practise checking agreement, articles, verb patterns, and punctuation after drafting.

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