Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-23

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)

In the modern era, people dress according to the fashion trends that go viral on different social media platforms. People get judged solely on the way they dress and this had created a strong impact on their lives. In my belief, a person's character must be taken into consideration rather than judging them based on the way they represent themselves in the society. This essay will clarify, why the given statement is a negative development.

Social media platforms has set some rules on how people should get dressed. If people's dressing sense is not meeting society;s expectations they get judged a lot. This affects a person's mental health and well being. For example, an influencer got lot of hate on social media just because she chose to dress in clothes that are comfortable. Due to the massive hate she recieved she got depressed.

From my perspective this is a negative development. People are spending a lot of money just to purchase the ongoing trendy items and face financial trouble once the trend starts to change. Society is becoming more materialistic. People stopped repeating clothes just because they are out of trend. This materialistic behaviour is ruining a lot of relationships and hold a negative impact on people's lives.

In conclusion, fashion trends are ruining the authenticity of people getting dressed according their own personal style. This development is making people live upto society's expectations rather than have their own style of dressing. Moreover, it is buring peoples pockets by making them buy unwanted items, just because they are trending. So, I believe this is a negative development.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the influence of global fashion and the evaluation of whether this is positive or negative. You clearly state your position that it is a negative development. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention social media and financial pressure, the arguments could be more thoroughly extended with more specific examples or deeper analysis. For instance, the example of the influencer is a good start, but it lacks detail to fully support the argument about mental health. To reach a higher band, ensure that each point is fully explored with more nuanced reasoning rather than relying on general statements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. There is a progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'In conclusion' and 'Moreover', but the range is somewhat limited, and some transitions feel a bit mechanical. Referencing is generally clear, though there are minor issues with punctuation, such as the semicolon usage in 'society;s expectations'. Overall, the structure is coherent, but more varied linking words would improve the flow and make the connections between ideas more sophisticated.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'materialistic', 'authenticity', and 'represent'. However, the range is somewhat basic and repetitive. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'buring peoples pockets' (should be 'burning a hole in people's pockets') and 'get dressed' (which is slightly informal). To improve, try to incorporate more precise academic vocabulary and collocations related to the topic of fashion and societal influence. The current vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning, but it lacks the flexibility and precision required for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('Social media platforms has', 'this had created') and punctuation errors ('society;s'). These errors do not generally impede communication, but they are noticeable. To achieve a higher score, you need to demonstrate better control over complex structures and ensure that your basic grammar, particularly subject-verb agreement and pluralisation, is more accurate. Increasing the variety of sentence types while maintaining accuracy will also help improve your score.

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

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