IELTS Commentry: IELTS essay, topic: Households should have a government-imposed limit on the amount of rubbish they produce (agree/disagree)

This is a model response to a Writing Task 2 topic from High Scorer’s Choice IELTS Practice Tests book series (reprinted with permission). This answer is close to IELTS Band 9.

Set 4 General Training book, Practice Test 17

Writing Task 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Every household should have a government-imposed limit on the amount of rubbish it can throw away. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Sample Band 9 Essay

The amount of waste people produce can be quite shocking, with every person generating kilograms of rubbish in a single day, and all this can be difficult to manage. This has given some people the idea that there should be a limitation on the amount of rubbish produced per household; however, opinions are divided as to whether this would be the the most effective option.

Having a limitation on the amount of waste produced sounds like a fine solution to a significant problem, with over two hundred and fifty million tons being generated in 2016 by the U.S. alone. Taxing households that break limits would push people to produce less waste and make them more mindful of what can be recycled or composted. However, forcing people to produce less waste might not be attainable.

Households produce as much waste as they need to live their lifestyles. The waste people generate is only a result of the products they purchase, and will most likely wish to continue to purchase. Taxing people may be a cause of resentment, with many of them already struggling to pay their usual bills. In addition, if people produce more than they are allowed, this will encourage littering and dumping, so that they are not caught with more waste than entitled, and this in turn will damage the environment.

Though controlling the amount of waste produced is important, there could be other ways of encouraging lesser output. In my opinion, governments should encourage composting and recycling, which will also reduce wasted material. People should also be more aware of what waste they produce and how it can be reduced. An education drive on these issues would perhaps be more likely to succeed in reducing rubbish than imposing limitations.

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