Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-19
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)
Some people believe to buy expensive clothes, less in number in one season is a good habit while to purchase lots of cheaper clothes. This tend to effect the emotional satisfaction as well as economy of the textile industry.
The costumes, designed by various renouned designers are becoming popular. The branded shops earn a lot by selling them at high cost to maintain the market strategies. Although, these dresses are expensive, their designs, stitching and fabric are so fascinating that they attract the costumers. The high-quality materials are used to be prepared by experienced tailors. The consumers are interested to buy them without any hesitation because of these factors.
No doubt, the purchase of a few expensive clothes is not a challange for cosumers instead of buying multiple cheaper clothes. The people are mentally satisfied as they are enjoying in wearing a good fabric that could maintain their quality for a longer time even they are washed frequently.Moreover, these people are enhancing the marketing growth of the designers,thus effecting the economy positively.
The cheaper clothes tend to look ugly as soon as they are washed. They loose their shining and quality. So, it does not matter either to take cheaper clothes less or more in number in a season. The consumers also unsatisfy with these products, They have to spend more money to buy new clothes to replace the poor- looking cheaper one. In this way, the cost becomes equal to the expensive clothes.
Consequently, I strongly believe that buying less but expensive clothes is a good choice rathar than to take multiple cheaper clothes which have no worth after some time. I also support the aspect of economical sustainability of a country with the notion of buying less but consider the quality and l
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses the prompt by clearly stating a position that buying a few expensive clothes is better than many cheaper ones, and maintains this viewpoint throughout. Main ideas are presented and supported with reasons regarding durability, emotional satisfaction, and economic impact. However, some arguments lack full extension and suffer from minor lapses in clarity, such as the initial sentence which is slightly confused. Furthermore, the final paragraph trails off unfinished ("l..."), which prevents the ideas from being fully realised at the very end. Nevertheless, all parts of the task are addressed and a clear overall position is established, which aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is generally coherent with a recognisable overall progression of ideas from introduction to body paragraphs and conclusion. Paragraphing is utilised to separate distinct points, such as the appeal of branded clothes, the mental satisfaction of quality, and the issues with cheaper alternatives. However, cohesion is at times faulty or mechanical. Words like "Although", "Moreover", and "Consequently" are attempted, but referencing and linking are occasionally awkward, such as "instead of buying multiple cheaper clothes" used confusingly in the third paragraph. The trailing off at the end also disrupts the overall flow. These features place the response firmly in the Band 6 category.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate to the topic, including terms like "emotional satisfaction", "textile industry", "renowned designers", and "economical sustainability". However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations throughout the text, such as "to buy expensive clothes, less in number", "costumers" instead of customers, "loose their shining" instead of lose their shine, and "unsatisfy" instead of unsatisfied. Spelling errors like "challange" and "rarathar" also occur. Despite these limitations and inaccuracies, the vocabulary is adequate to convey the general message, satisfying the criteria for a Band 5.5 or 6.0, with Band 5.5 best reflecting the frequency of word-choice errors.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilising subordinate clauses and conditionals. However, there are frequent grammatical errors in tense selection, preposition use, and voice, such as "Some people believe to buy expensive clothes", "are used to be prepared", and "does not matter either to take cheaper clothes". Punctuation is also sometimes neglected around clauses and lists. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the grammar from reaching Band 6 consistently, making Band 5.0 a fair and accurate reflection of the current control over grammatical structures.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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