Some people worry 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 agree or disagree?
Sample Response
Many people argue that governments should make laws to increase the recycling of household waste. However, I believe that laws are not needed to make people recycle more of their waste. In this essay, I will discuss why laws are not the best way to increase recycling.
Firstly, people are more likely to recycle if they understand the benefits of recycling. Many individuals do not recycle because they do not know what happens to the waste they generate or why it is important to recycle. For example, in my neighbourhood, some people do not recycle because they do not know the recycling process. If governments provide more education and awareness programs, people will understand the benefits of recycling, and it will become a habit for them.
Secondly, the lack of access to recycling facilities is another reason why people in many areas do not recycle. In many places, recycling bins are not readily available, and people have to go out of their way to recycle their waste. For example, in some rural areas, there are no recycling facilities, which makes it difficult for people to recycle. If governments make recycling bins more accessible and convenient, people will be more likely to recycle.
Thirdly, financial incentives can be used to encourage recycling. In some places, people are paid for the waste they recycle, which motivates them to recycle more. For example, in Japan, the government pays people for the plastic bottles they recycle. This financial incentive motivates people to recycle more and reduces the amount of waste that goes to landfills.
In conclusion, I believe that laws are not needed to make people recycle more of their garbage. Instead, governments should focus on education and awareness programmes, provide more access to recycling facilities, and offer financial incentives to encourage people to recycle. If these measures are taken, people will be more likely to recycle their waste, which will benefit the environment and society as a whole.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use precise verb Original: make Suggested revision: enact Why it matters: The verb 'enact' is more precise in formal discussion of legislation.
- 2. Use concise phrasing Original: increase the recycling of household waste Suggested revision: increase household-waste recycling Why it matters: This compact noun phrase avoids unnecessary wording while preserving the meaning.
- 3. State purpose directly Original: In this essay, I will discuss Suggested revision: This essay explains Why it matters: A direct statement creates a smoother transition from the position to the essay's focus.
- 4. Improve collocation Original: do not know the recycling process Suggested revision: do not understand how recycling works Why it matters: The revised wording expresses a lack of understanding more naturally.
- 5. Use parallel modifiers Original: more education and awareness programs Suggested revision: educational and awareness programmes Why it matters: Parallel modifiers make the two types of initiatives clearer.
- 6. Clarify pronoun reference Original: it will become a habit for them Suggested revision: recycling will become habitual for them Why it matters: Naming recycling removes the vague reference of 'it'.
- 7. Remove wordiness Original: another reason why people in many areas do not recycle Suggested revision: another reason many people do not recycle Why it matters: The shorter relative construction is grammatically complete and more concise.
- 8. Use formal wording Original: go out of their way Suggested revision: make an extra effort Why it matters: This alternative is more suitable for a formal academic response.
- 9. Choose accurate noun Original: bins Suggested revision: facilities Why it matters: Convenience more naturally describes the overall facilities than the bins themselves.
- 10. Use concise expression Original: the amount of waste that goes to landfills Suggested revision: the amount of waste sent to landfill Why it matters: The passive participle gives the same meaning more concisely.
- 11. Keep terminology consistent Original: more of their garbage Suggested revision: more of their household waste Why it matters: Using the essay's established term maintains a consistent formal register.
- 12. Improve collocation Original: provide more access to recycling facilities Suggested revision: improve access to recycling facilities Why it matters: 'Improve access' is the more natural collocation in this context.
Suggested Rewrites
- make enact
- increase the recycling of household waste increase household-waste recycling
- In this essay, I will discuss This essay explains
- do not know the recycling process do not understand how recycling works
- more education and awareness programs educational and awareness programmes
- it will become a habit for them recycling will become habitual for them
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response is strongest in its clear, consistently maintained position and its orderly development of three practical alternatives to legislation. Its main limitation is that the explanations and examples are somewhat generic and repeatedly use the same recycling vocabulary, which reduces depth and precision. The highest-priority improvement is to develop fewer points more critically, explicitly showing why each measure could outperform or complement legal requirements.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response directly rejects the claim and supports its position with three relevant, adequately developed alternatives.
Develop the comparison with legal compulsion more critically so the alternatives demonstrate why legislation is unnecessary.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through clear paragraphs, although the sequencing is predictable and some explanations repeat earlier wording.
Use more varied internal links between claims, causes, and outcomes instead of relying mainly on numbered transitions.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is appropriate and includes useful topic-specific items, but repeated forms of recycle and some generic phrasing limit flexibility.
Vary recurring language and choose more precise expressions for public education, collection infrastructure, and incentive schemes.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A good range of complex sentences is used with consistently strong control and only minor awkwardness.
Refine the few cumbersome conditional and coordinated sentences to make relationships between ideas more concise.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people worry 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 agree or disagree?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.