Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-08-06
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
It is better to buy just a few expensive clothes, rather than lots of cheaper clothes.
Do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 6.5)
Clothing is an essential part of one's personality. It is one of the first thing that gets noticed before anything else. It is often debated that purchasing few costly apparels is better than abundance of cheaper clothes. I partially agree with this and will discuss it in the following essay.
On the one hand, quality brand clothes are well stitched and better fit than the lowkey brands. Moreover, they also last longer comparatively because of the high end material that is being used to make it. Additionally, luxurious brand are also linked with the persons status quo. For instance, celebs who are always in the people's eye are rarely seen wearing anything from cheaper brands this has made a perception in the public's mind that to look high end is linked to wearing clothes from top tier clothing not from the affordable ones.
On the other hand, inexpensive apparel provides way more styling options to choose from. Furthermore, nowadays due to the social media trend changes quickly within a short period of time and could be more costlier for everyone to keep buying new apparels all the time to look presentable. However, many would prefer that to buy ample of affordable clothes and create new style with that and do not repeat the same look often. Although not everyone is judged by the way they are dressed but their overall personality including looks, body shape, communication often gets more accolades.
To conclude, it is preferable that having a mix of branded and affordable clothes not only gives the options to choose from as to how a person would like to dress up depending on the occasion.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The response addresses all parts of the prompt and maintains a clear position throughout, which is a balanced approach. The ideas are relevant, such as the durability of expensive clothes versus the variety offered by cheaper options. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the point about 'status quo' is introduced but not fully explored in terms of its social implications. To reach a higher band, you should provide more detailed explanations or specific, nuanced examples to support your arguments, rather than relying on general statements. The conclusion is a bit abrupt and does not fully summarize the main points discussed in the body paragraphs.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two sides of the argument. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Moreover', and 'Furthermore' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and there are instances where referencing is unclear, such as in the sentence 'this has made a perception', where 'this' refers back to a whole clause rather than a specific noun. Improving the variety and flow of these linking words would enhance the overall coherence.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'apparels', 'luxurious', and 'accolades'. However, there are some issues with word choice and collocation. For example, 'lowkey brands' is informal and not entirely accurate in this context, and 'costlier for everyone to keep buying' is slightly awkward. Additionally, 'abundance of cheaper clothes' is a bit unnatural. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and academic vocabulary. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning, it lacks the flexibility and sophistication required for higher band scores.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors. For example, 'It is one of the first thing' should be 'first things', and 'luxurious brand are' should be 'brands are'. There are also issues with punctuation and sentence fragments, such as the run-on sentence in the second paragraph: '...cheaper brands this has made a perception...'. These errors occur frequently enough to be noticeable but do not significantly impede communication. Increasing your control over subject-verb agreement and sentence boundaries will help improve your score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.