Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-28
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)
It is an ongoing debate in new young generation about whether it is best to buy costly clothes or buy pocket friendly clothes in bulk. I completely agree with this view that we should go with expensive clothes. This essay will discuss why i am with expensive clothes.
The primary reason why i support this view is that expensive clothes are more long lasting than cheaper clothes. This is because these kind of clothes have good fabric and stuff which leads to decrease clothe wastage. In other words, expensice clothes could hold colour for long time. For instance, chep clothes start fading their colour after few washes. Consequently, it is evident that good brand clothes help to reduce clothes wastage in scoiety.
Another important point to consider is that in good fabric person feel more comfortable rather than in cheap stuff. For example, mostly sport persons love to wear nike brand while doing games, as it's more comfortable and designed according to requirements.
To conclude it, i firmly believe that buying costly clothes are far better than cheap clothes.This is mainly because good stuff last for long time which in long run prevent clothe wastage.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The student addresses the prompt by clearly stating a position agreeing that buying expensive clothes is better than purchasing cheaper ones in bulk. However, the response falls significantly short of the required 250 words, containing only 195 words. Because the length requirement is not met, the development of ideas is limited and under-developed, particularly in the body paragraphs where arguments regarding durability and comfort are stated briefly without sufficient extension or detailed examples. Consequently, this penalises the Task Achievement score, placing it firmly in the lower-intermediate bracket despite a clear stance.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays a basic overall structure with an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is attempted, though the paragraphs are brief. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as "The primary reason why", "In other words", and "For instance". However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes mechanical or repetitive, and transitional phrases like "To conclude it" are slightly unnatural. Overall arrangement is coherent enough to follow the writer's line of thought, but the lack of extended progression due to the short text length keeps the score at a modest level.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting words and phrases such as "ongoing debate", "pocket friendly", "long lasting", and "fabric". However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including "expensice", "chep", "clothe" instead of clothing, and "scoiety". Collocations are occasionally awkward, such as "doing games" instead of playing sports. The vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the basic message, but inaccuracies prevent the writer from achieving a higher band score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as "The primary reason why i support this view is that expensive clothes are more long lasting than cheaper clothes." However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation issues, including lowercase pronouns ("i"), missing articles, and subject-verb agreement problems (e.g., "buying costly clothes are far better"). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they persist throughout the response and demonstrate limited control over complex structures.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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