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?
Sample Response
People’s participation in waste recycling and legal requirements regarding this is a moot issue. Whether people should spontaneously take part in the recycling process or governments should make it a legal obligation needs a thorough discussion. I personally believe that governments should impose laws and severely fine the violators to ensure proper waste recycling.
To commence with, waste recycling is done by the state and citizens are expected to properly separate the recyclable and non-recyclable garbage and pack them accordingly while dumping them in recycle bins. They are expected to cooperate greatly in the recycling process. However, it is a strange fact that many people do not partake in it spontaneously either from their negligence or from their lack of time to do so. Therefore, making it a law and imposing fines for violating it can greatly improve people's participation in recycling.
Moreover, it is a harsh truth that many people abide by rules only from the concern of punishment or fine, not from their conscience. For instance, when the penalty for traffic rule violations went up last year, people started following them in my city. Similarly, if laws are introduced and the authority starts penalising, more people would recycle more of their household waste.
Finally, waste recycling is essential to protect our environment, and we already have many rules to protect our environment. While deforestation is a severe crime in my country, there is no visible law for not recycling waste. This is why people are very careless about their waste management in our country. Therefore, proper laws related to waste recycling are required.
In conclusion, most of the citizens in our country already know about the importance of saving the environment and how individual efforts of recycling can improve environmental conditions. Since many of them still do not take part in waste recycling, there is no alternative than to impose laws to have this done.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use precise adverb Original: spontaneously Suggested revision: voluntarily Why it matters: “Voluntarily” more precisely conveys participation without compulsion.
- 2. Correct legal collocation Original: impose Suggested revision: enact Why it matters: Governments “enact” laws, while they impose requirements or penalties.
- 3. Use natural collocation Original: severely fine the violators Suggested revision: impose substantial fines on violators Why it matters: This is the natural formal expression for applying large financial penalties.
- 4. Use natural transition Original: commence Suggested revision: begin Why it matters: “To begin with” is the established transition in this context.
- 5. Keep terminology consistent Original: garbage Suggested revision: waste Why it matters: “Waste” is the more precise term and matches the essay’s topic.
- 6. Clarify pronouns and sequence Original: pack them accordingly while dumping them in recycle bins Suggested revision: sort it accordingly before placing it in recycling bins Why it matters: The revision treats “waste” as uncountable and makes the sequence of actions clear.
- 7. Correct collocation Original: cooperate greatly Suggested revision: play an active role Why it matters: “Cooperate greatly” is not a natural collocation for substantial participation.
- 8. Correct cause phrase Original: either from their negligence or from their lack of time Suggested revision: because of negligence or lack of time Why it matters: “Because of” introduces these causes more naturally and concisely.
- 9. Use natural cause phrase Original: from the concern of punishment or fine Suggested revision: out of fear of punishment or fines Why it matters: The revision uses the natural collocation for motivation by possible penalties.
- 10. Clarify actor and object Original: the authority starts penalising Suggested revision: the authorities start penalising offenders Why it matters: The plural subject suits a general reference and the verb needs an explicit object.
- 11. Correct fixed expression Original: than Suggested revision: but Why it matters: The fixed construction is “no alternative but to.”
- 12. Use active wording Original: waste recycling is done by the state Suggested revision: the state manages waste recycling Why it matters: The active construction identifies the state’s role more directly.
Suggested Rewrites
- spontaneously voluntarily
- impose enact
- severely fine the violators impose substantial fines on violators
- commence begin
- garbage waste
- pack them accordingly while dumping them in recycle bins sort it accordingly before placing it in recycling bins
Why this response received Band 6.5
The essay maintains a clear position that recycling laws are necessary and develops it through behavioural reasoning, a traffic-law analogy, and comparison with other environmental regulation. Its main limitation is that several points repeat the same enforcement claim, while frequent unnatural collocations reduce polish. The highest-priority improvement is to deepen one causal explanation and refine the language used for compliance, penalties, and household recycling.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The question is fully addressed with a consistent position and multiple relevant reasons, although development sometimes repeats rather than extends the central claim.
Explain more precisely how legal duties and penalties would change household sorting behaviour and acknowledge the limits of enforcement.
Coherence and Cohesion
The five-paragraph structure and progression from participation to deterrence and environmental regulation are clear, with only some repetitive signposting and ideas.
Give each body paragraph a distinct function and use transitions that show how the second and third reasons add to the first.
Lexical Resource
There is sufficient range for environmental policy and enforcement, but several expressions such as “severely fine,” “concern of punishment,” and “visible law” are unnatural.
Use precise collocations such as impose substantial fines, fear of punishment, legal requirement, and comply with recycling rules.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The essay uses varied complex sentences, but errors in agreement, articles, conditionals, pronouns, and prepositions remain noticeable throughout.
Proofread subject-verb agreement and conditional forms, especially where singular authorities, plural citizens, and hypothetical results are described.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
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?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.