Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-12

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 7.0)

In this fashion era, certain people prefer to purchase branded clothes instead of buying a number of cheap products. In my opinion, buying better-quality clothes over price is a better choice than following blind fashion. I believe that expensive clothing offers more comfort, higher quality, and neutral colours. As a result of these specific qualities, most of the branded clothes never go out of fashion, such as denim jeans, plain shirts, and so on. Moreover, they provide a luxury look, which enhances individuals' personality because of their simple and non-complex format. Furthermore, people can wear these clothes several times because they do not get damaged easily after washing, whereas cheaper clothes start getting faded after 1-2 wears. On the other hand, people can purchase cheaper clothes in greater quantity, but they easily get out of fashion. This is because cheap clothing always contains a specific fashion style, which stays in trend only for two to three months, such as neon coloured clothes. As a result, most people prefer to throw away these clothes in the garbage because they are no longer going to use this apparel. This is creating a significant amount of waste on Earth, which is quite hard to manage due to its synthetic materials. According to last year's waste report, a rising amount of waste comes from the fashion industry every year, which is causing pollution. In conclusion, I feel that choosing quality over quantity is highly beneficial to control the waste that is increasing in the fashion industry.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

Your position is clear from the introduction: you favour buying higher-quality clothes, and the conclusion returns to this view. You address both sides by explaining the durability and versatility of expensive clothes, then contrasting these with the short-lived appeal and environmental impact of cheaper fashion. Examples such as jeans, plain shirts and neon clothing help make the points concrete. The discussion is relevant and generally supported, though some claims are broad—for example, that branded clothes “never go out of fashion” and that cheaper clothes fade after only one or two wears. To strengthen the response further, qualify such generalisations and develop one example with more specific explanation or personal experience. Overall, the task is addressed clearly and the main ideas are extended, with some room for more precise support.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall progression: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present the advantages of quality clothing and the drawbacks of cheaper items, and a conclusion reinforces your position. Linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “Furthermore,” “On the other hand,” and “As a result” make the relationships between points easy to follow. Paragraphing is appropriate, and the contrast between the two choices is clear. At times, however, the links feel somewhat formulaic, and several ideas are joined in long sequences rather than being shaped into a more varied progression. For example, the environmental point could be separated from the fashion-trend explanation and linked more explicitly to your central argument. More varied referencing and transitions would make cohesion less noticeable while preserving the clear organisation.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range of topic vocabulary, including “higher quality,” “neutral colours,” “out of fashion,” “synthetic materials,” and “fashion industry.” These choices allow you to discuss durability, style and waste with reasonable precision. There are also attempts at less common phrasing, such as “control the waste,” but some collocations and word choices are not fully natural: “buying better-quality clothes over price,” “enhances individuals’ personality,” and “throw away these clothes in the garbage” could be expressed more idiomatically. “Non-complex format” is also vague in this context. These issues do not prevent understanding, but they limit the naturalness and precision of the vocabulary. Aim to learn common word partnerships and choose terms that convey your intended meaning directly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

You use a range of sentence forms, including complex clauses with “because,” “whereas,” and “which,” and many sentences are grammatically clear. For instance, “This is creating a significant amount of waste on Earth, which is quite hard to manage due to its synthetic materials” shows an attempt to connect a claim with an explanation. There are also some awkward grammatical constructions, such as “buying better-quality clothes over price is a better choice,” where the comparison is not formed clearly, and “most of the branded clothes never go out of fashion,” where the article and noun phrase are not well controlled. The sentence beginning “According to last year's waste report” also has a long chain of clauses that could be punctuated or divided for clarity. Continue using complex structures, while checking comparisons, articles and clause boundaries.

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