Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-19

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Many aspects of the way people dress today are influenced by global fashion trends.

How has global fashion become such a strong influence on people's lives? Do you think this is a positive or negative development?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Now a days, every person is very much into the internet and social media that they tend to follow every fashion trends. As due to the globalization every person is aware of ongoing fashion. The fashion is changing every week, season and year. The social media has many aspects which might be positive as well as negative. Every person, regardless of age, seem to follow the ongoing fashion trends.

Every person on internet are showing their lifestyle which shows their living standard and from which others are being influenced. As social media is not real life but every person are protraying the so called perfect life. And the people seeing it is actually trying to copy it not just the way they are presenting themselves but also their fashion sense. As a result, they are following fast fashion trend. Every time there is any kind of new fashion on market they are up to it. The practice of repeating cloths are now vanishing completely.

The global fashion has become such a strong influence on people's lives that they are spending huge money on unneccessory things. It is not just affecting the money but also environment. Since the fabrics used to make the clothes are mostly synthetic meaning it will take longer time to decompose and causing serios problems. There are many serious problems caused by the garments and factories waste in the environment as well.

There are many things we need to consider like environment, wild life and human health that are adversely affected by this trend. So to overcome the negative effects we should be consious.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the influence of global fashion and whether this is a positive or negative development. However, the development is somewhat limited. While you identify social media as a driver and mention environmental impacts, the arguments remain quite general. For instance, you mention that people are 'spending huge money' and that it affects the environment, but these points could be more deeply explored with specific examples or a more nuanced discussion of the 'positive' aspects of fashion, which you mention in the introduction but fail to elaborate on. To reach a higher band, ensure you provide a more balanced and detailed exploration of both sides of the argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the flow of ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat repetitive and occasionally mechanical. For example, the frequent use of 'Every person' at the start of sentences creates a repetitive structure that hinders the natural flow of the text. Furthermore, some transitions between ideas are abrupt, such as the jump from social media influence to environmental concerns. Using a wider variety of linking words (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'in contrast') would improve the logical progression and make the connections between your arguments more explicit.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the range and precision required for a higher band. You rely on basic phrasing such as 'every person' and 'many things'. There are also some spelling errors, such as 'unneccessory', 'serios', and 'consious', as well as collocation issues like 'on market' instead of 'on the market'. To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary related to the topic, such as 'consumerism', 'sustainability', 'digital influence', or 'environmental degradation', and pay closer attention to spelling and word choice accuracy.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'Every person... seem to follow', 'every person are portraying') and article usage (e.g., 'on internet', 'on market'). Additionally, the punctuation is sometimes inconsistent. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and refining your use of articles will significantly improve the overall accuracy of your writing.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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