Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-18

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 5.0)

I would like to talk with you about expensive and cheaper clothes.

In globalization clothes are more important in humani life.there is many variety oo clothes,like for office meetings, traditinol, and many kind of special occasion.

Indivisual have different taste.any person wear the clothe according to his taste.

But sopme people preffer cheaper clothes while the other people choose the expensive clothes.

In my opinion here is some differeneces about the society,any one want to looking great and elegant specially number in women,but anyone can't afforde the expencive clothes and cheaper also no person choose happily.

Buying fewer clothes can reduce unnecessary spending. People sometimes buy cheap clothes simply because they are inexpensive, even when they do not really need them. In contrast, purchasing a smaller number of durable clothes can encourage people to think carefully before buying something.

For example i have a friend Ahmd,we have been friend since college days,and i know him very well.he like alwaye the expencive clothes and for buying he work hard.sometimes he needs rest but for the clothes he eagerly work hard.while i seems this is not necessory for him.he can wears the cheap clothes but he still for what hi think.expensive clothes are not always the best choice for everyone. Some people have limited budgets and cannot afford high-priced items. In such cases, reasonably priced clothes can be a practical alternative, especially when they are of acceptable quality.

In conclusion, I believe that buying a few durable and high-quality clothes is generally a better approach than purchasing many cheap items. However, people should consider their budget and choose clothes that offer good value for money.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the debate between buying fewer expensive clothes versus many cheap clothes, and a clear position is established in the introduction and reinforced in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive, particularly in the body paragraphs where sentences like 'expensive clothes are not always the best choice for everyone' repeat previous points rather than extending them. Furthermore, the example involving the friend 'Ahmd' is overly anecdotal and lacks clear connection to the central thesis of durability versus quantity. Overall, the task is addressed, but the depth of ideational development aligns best with a Band 5.5 to 6.0 descriptor. Due to the whole or half-band requirement, a score of 5.5 is awarded as the ideas remain somewhat under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay demonstrates some organizational structure, opening with an introduction and closing with a conclusion, but paragraphing is poorly handled, especially in the middle section where sentences run together without clear thematic breaks. Cohesive devices are minimal, mechanical, or misused, such as abrupt shifts using 'while i seems this is not necessory for him' and 'while the other people choose'. Progression throughout the text is difficult to follow because referencing is frequently unclear and transitions between contrasting ideas lack smoothness. While there is an overall attempt to structure an essay, the frequent lack of logical progression and faulty cohesion restrict the score to a Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, utilizing common words such as 'clothes', 'expensive', 'cheap', and 'people' excessively throughout the text. There are frequent word choice and collocation errors, such as 'number in women', 'any one want to looking great', and 'eagerly work hard'. Less common lexical items are attempted but usually contain errors in form or spelling, such as 'indivisual', 'traditinol', 'preffer', and 'expencive'. Because the lexical range is limited and noticeable errors in word formation cause some difficulty for the reader, the response clearly fits the Band 5.0 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over basic grammatical structures and punctuation is weak. There are frequent sentence boundary errors, missing capitalization at the beginning of sentences, and incorrect verb forms, such as 'there is many variety oo clothes', 'anyone can't afforde', and 'he can wears the cheap clothes'. Punctuation is largely neglected, with spaces missing after commas and periods. Although meaning can mostly be discerned, the high frequency of grammatical and mechanical errors prevents the text from achieving a Band 6.0, justifying a score of 5.0.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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