Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-21
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)
it is true that people like to buy expensive clothes rather than lots of cheap clothes.because every person have there own level of perception regarding shoping and choice of clothes they wear, it totally depend on individual percention and liking and disliking.
some people agree to that statement which is buying expense clothes feel more luxury and premium feel while other believe that buying cheap clothes saves money and buying in a budget friendly clothes give them mentally peace.
in my opinion i think buying the expensive clothes feels perfect in long run.
On one hand supporters of the buying expensive clothes have a valid piont that buying a good quality clothes are better investment in long run because quality is good and wear tear is less is good quality clothes, so they think buying good quality clothes help them to save time to re-buy or spend more money on clothes. so they take time and pick a good quality clothes for example if a person buys a expensive set of 3 t-shirts that last longer and the chances of wear and tear is less and fatigue of buying again is limited
On the other hand some people believe that buying expense clothes is a burden on pocket, and buying expensive clothes is not a best choice for their budget because spending more money is not a perfect choice if they get the clothes in less money or in sale. for example buying a set of 6 t-shirts in a price of expensive 3 t-shirts price is more perfect choice rather than buying the expensive clothes, because it saves money and that money can be use somewhere else in budget, so their main goal is to stay in a budget and always buy a budget friendly clothes.
In conclusion both perspective are correct in own ways, because is suits and favour their individual choices which they think are best for themself.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the task, presenting both sides of the argument regarding expensive versus cheap clothing and offering a clear personal position in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are extended with relevant examples, such as comparing the purchase of three durable t-shirts versus six cheaper ones. However, the development of ideas tends to be repetitive, often circling back to the concepts of budget and durability without introducing deeper analytical insights. The conclusion also briefly mischaracterises the prompt by stating that 'both perspective are correct' rather than firmly maintaining the author's stated view that expensive clothes are better in the long run. Despite these limitations in depth and consistency of stance, all parts of the prompt are addressed, meeting the criteria for a Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a discernible introduction, body paragraphs addressing each side of the argument, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is utilised, though paragraph breaks and punctuation are occasionally flawed (e.g., missing spaces after full stops, lowercase beginnings to sentences like 'it is true'). Cohesive devices such as 'On one hand' and 'On the other hand' are employed to sequence ideas logically, but referencing and linking are sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent reuse of 'buying expensive clothes' and 'budget friendly clothes'. Paragraph transitions could also be smoother to enhance the overall flow of argumentation. This aligns well with the Band 6 descriptor where cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common and topic-specific items such as 'investment', 'wear and tear', 'fatigue', and 'budget-friendly'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies, inappropriate word choices, and awkward collocations throughout the text, such as 'expense clothes' instead of 'expensive clothes', 'piont' for point, and 'in a price of' instead of 'at the price of'. Spelling errors also occur, including 'percention' and 'shoping'. While communication is not severely impeded and meaning remains clear, the frequency of word-choice errors restricts the score to a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional and relative clauses. However, grammatical control is inconsistent. There are numerous run-on sentences and comma splices, such as in the opening paragraph: '...every person have there own level of perception regarding shoping and choice of clothes they wear, it totally depend on individual percention...'. Subject-verb agreement errors are frequent (e.g., 'every person have', 'it totally depend'), along with punctuation and capitalization oversights (starting sentences with lowercase letters). While some complex structures are attempted, the high frequency of basic grammatical errors and punctuation lapses places this response firmly in the Band 5.0 category.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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