Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-25

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)

Many aspects of the way people dress today are influenced by global fashion trends. And these trends become so immensely famous because of the rise of social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. And these trends have become so relatable to younger generations because of fashion influencers who set viral trends. Famous brands like Channel, Dior and Prada reach these world famous creators and give them endorsements so that, their products can reach global audience.

In the recent years, fashion industry also produced clothes and other accessories in mass and opened many outlet stores. So their product really become affordable and accessible to normal people. This also become a cause why fashion trends become so normal everywhere.

Another main reason for this influence on peoples is cultural exchange, globalization and cross-cultural influence. And because of tourism, exposure to different style increases and every trend become globally excepted. Most importantly celebrity culture, modelling show and red carpet event also play a huge role in setting trends.

I think it has negative effects on people's lives because it creates peer pressure on people to join the trends otherwise they will be left behind. And this results in overconsumption and financial burden on people because they purchase the clothes that they do not even need.

And these trends are not even limited to clothes because they set beauty standards. Because of it many people develop body image issue and they feel like they are inferior. Because of cultural homogenization, many unique cultural identities are fading and everybody is slowly becoming westernized.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the reasons for the influence of global fashion and the evaluation of whether this is positive or negative. The ideas are relevant, such as the role of social media, influencers, and mass production. However, the development is somewhat limited. While the negative impacts are discussed, the positive side is largely ignored, leading to a one-sided argument. To reach a higher band, you should provide a more balanced view or explicitly justify why the negative aspects outweigh the positive ones. The conclusion is also quite abrupt and lacks a summary of the main points.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the argument. However, the use of cohesive devices is often repetitive and mechanical. For example, many sentences begin with 'And' or 'Because of', which creates a choppy flow. There is a lack of sophisticated linking words to connect ideas between and within paragraphs. While the progression of ideas is generally logical, the reliance on simple conjunctions and the lack of varied referencing (e.g., using pronouns or synonyms to refer back to previous concepts) limits the coherence of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'globalization', 'cross-cultural influence', and 'overconsumption'. However, there are several instances of imprecise word choice and collocation errors, such as 'immensely famous' (instead of 'widespread' or 'prevalent'), 'globally excepted' (should be 'accepted'), and 'modelling show' (should be 'fashion shows'). Additionally, there are minor spelling errors like 'Channel' (should be 'Chanel'). To improve, focus on using more precise academic collocations and ensure you are using the correct word forms in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses 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., 'fashion industry also produced' should be 'has produced'), article usage (e.g., 'reach global audience' should be 'reach a global audience'), and sentence fragments starting with 'And' or 'Because of'. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on sentence variety and proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy would be beneficial.

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

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