Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-09

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 5.5)

In this contemporary epoch, purchasing the costly clothes instead of multiple pocket friendly clothes is good. However, I totally agreed with this statement with relevant reasons in upcoming paragraph.

There are several reasons behind this scenario. The first and the foremost reason should be standard of living in the society would be balanced. To be more precise, expensive attire might unbalance the budget, but this would maintain the authentic way of living. The second good reason should be positive environment among the young learners. In this modern era, most of the young learners slightly moving towards the western culture. They prefer modern style clothes rather than cultural clothes to conquer the fruitful atmosphere in western society.

Another relevant reason should be long-lasting life of clothes. In conjunction, cheaper clothes are fragile in nature, they doesn't have the good life cycle as compare to branded ones. For instance, a survey conducted by a famous youtuber Samdish , youtube channel named as 'Expose Trend' among the new aged group in 2024 revealed that 78 percent of peer groups mostly prefer the expensive as compare to cheaper ones.

To encapsulate, choosing expensive clothes over cheaper ones should be more lucrative as it doesn't imbalance the lifestyle as well as maintain the environment and quality of product.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, which significantly impacts the development of ideas. While you state your position clearly in the introduction, the arguments provided are underdeveloped. For instance, the point regarding 'standard of living' is vague and lacks a clear explanation of how expensive clothes specifically balance a budget or lifestyle. The example provided is also somewhat irrelevant to the core argument about quality versus quantity. To improve, you must expand on your reasoning with more depth and ensure you meet the minimum length to allow for a full exploration of the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or misused. For example, 'In conjunction' is used incorrectly to introduce a point about durability. Additionally, the transition between the introduction and the body paragraphs is abrupt. While there is an overall progression, the logical flow between sentences is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing, such as the transition into the example about the YouTuber. Improving the variety and accuracy of linking words will help create a more natural flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, but there are instances of unnatural word choice and collocation errors. Phrases like 'pocket friendly clothes' and 'conquer the fruitful atmosphere' are not idiomatic in this context. You attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary, such as 'lucrative' and 'authentic', but these are not always used with precision. To reach a higher band, focus on learning collocations—words that naturally go together—and avoid translating directly from your native language, which can lead to awkward phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('they doesn't have') and article usage ('the costly clothes'). There are also punctuation and phrasing issues, such as the unnecessary space before the comma in the final paragraph. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on basic grammatical accuracy and proofreading for subject-verb agreement will significantly improve your score.

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