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)
Global fashion is increasingly shaping how people dress.Fashion trends are acting on multiple areas of our lives.This is mainly because of social media ,online shopping, and celebrities.From my perspective, it is a positive development because it is cause of developing strong mutual connection among diffrent communities and more affordability,but it may have negative perspectives.
On the one hand, global fashion acts as a source of a strong community bonding. Therefore, hatred can easily be diminished among societies.For instance. social media apps like Instagram , tiktok, and Facebook promote fashion trends from numerous parts of the globe, so it makes people more aware of different clothing types and make them aware of different traditions and culture which they follow instead of spreading hate against each other.
Furthermore, clothing has become more affordable due to competition between brands. For example, whenever some new clothing trend is introduced in the market, adolescents go crazy to follow that trend, so different brands sell at low prices to attract more customers.
On the other hand , global fashion may have a detrimental effect , and people may feel pressured to follow the trend. They spend a huge amount of money just for better image in society.
Moreover, it can reduce traditional cultural clothing.For example, in Muslim countries, Western clothing is more in trend ,while their traditional clothing is shalwar kameez.
In conclusion, I believe fashion can act in a positive manner by bridging the gap between communities ,but we should not overlook our own culture and trends.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the prompt, identifying the drivers of global fashion and providing a balanced view on whether it is a positive or negative development. The position is clear throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding 'community bonding' is a bit abstract and could have been supported with more concrete, real-world examples beyond just mentioning social media apps. Similarly, the point about affordability is a good start but lacks depth regarding the economic implications. To reach a higher band, you should aim to expand your supporting points with more detailed explanations or specific illustrations to ensure the argument is fully developed rather than just stated.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the positive and negative aspects. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, the flow between some sentences is slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with punctuation and spacing (e.g., 'social media ,online shopping'). While the progression of ideas is generally clear, the use of cohesive devices could be more varied and sophisticated to improve the overall flow and coherence of the argument.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'diminished', 'detrimental', and 'mutual connection'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of repetitive phrasing and minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'adolescents go crazy to follow that trend'. The spelling is mostly accurate, though there are some spacing errors around punctuation marks. To improve, you should focus on using more precise collocations and a wider variety of topic-specific vocabulary to demonstrate greater flexibility and control.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, such as missing articles ('in trend'), incorrect preposition usage, and inconsistent spacing after commas. Some sentences are slightly awkward, such as 'it is cause of developing strong mutual connection'. While these errors do not impede communication, they are noticeable and occur throughout the text. To achieve a higher band, you should focus on improving your control over complex sentence structures and ensuring consistent accuracy in basic grammar, particularly with articles and sentence construction.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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