Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-29
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 the biggest truth that people want to buy high-priced clothes which are branded than the low-cost ones. However, I am totally agree with this statement that it is a way better to purchase few costly garments than a lot of inexpensive clothing.
There are a number of reasons behind this: Firstly, branded things possessions are tied to self-worth. People believe if they do not have the expensive clothes of the newest fashion in town they just do not have the identity. They believe that they not be accepted in the social circle and shall not get respect from others. This craving may lead to adoption of unethical modes to buy high costly garments and wasting money on their ever increasing desires. Consequently, values are compromised and forget about our financial crises.
In addition to this, culture and traditions are rooted in a social framework to maintain the relationships within which is of great importance. But in todays word, people like to do show-off about clothing, gold, education etcetera. Moreover, they forget about the actual issues of finance as most of individuals are middle-class. Thus, as social structures collapse, the culture is lost as well.
However, not all the people who buy costly wearing to make their status and ego superior. Instead, there are many successful people like to purchase low cost clothes more and few high cost ones. They save their money for the future circumstances.
Finally, I opine that we should acquire low priced clothing more that high priced ones. Furthermore, we should follow the one oath: Simple living and high thinking.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response attempts to address the prompt regarding whether it is better to buy expensive or cheap clothes. However, the writer's position becomes contradictory and confused. In the introduction, the writer states 'I am totally agree with this statement that it is a way better to purchase few costly garments', but later in the body paragraphs and conclusion, the argument shifts to arguing against expensive clothes, ultimately stating 'we should acquire low priced clothing more that high priced ones.' This directly contradicts the initial stance and the prompt's premise, meaning the position is not maintained throughout. Furthermore, the development of ideas wanders into tangential societal critiques rather than focusing closely on the comparison of consumer choices, resulting in a band 5 performance for this criterion.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The essay is divided into paragraphs, though the logical progression is hindered by the shift in the writer's stance. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'In addition to this', and 'Finally' are utilized to signpost the structure of the essay, providing a basic framework. However, referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the phrase 'relationships within which is of great importance', which disrupts the flow of ideas. Paragraphing is attempted, but the overall organization suffers because the arguments within the body paragraphs lack a cohesive connection to a unified central thesis. Therefore, the response demonstrates the characteristics of a band 5 for coherence and cohesion.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range to communicate basic ideas related to consumerism and social status, utilizing terms such as 'self-worth', 'social circle', and 'unethical modes'. However, there are numerous lexical and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text. Examples include 'branded things possessions' (redundancy), 'high costly garments' (incorrect adjective form), 'todays word' (spelling and collocation error for 'today's world'), and 'costly wearing' (incorrect noun choice). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the general topic, these persistent errors and awkward phrasings place the response firmly at band 5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are several noticeable grammatical errors, such as 'I am totally agree' (incorrect verb phrase), 'that they not be accepted' (missing auxiliary verb), 'forget about our financial crises' (dangling modifier with no clear subject), and 'many successful people like to purchase low cost clothes more and few high cost ones' (awkward phrasing and missing comparative structures). Punctuation is also occasionally faulty. These errors cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the grammar from reaching a higher band, making a score of 5.0 appropriate.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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