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)

In the developing countries, fashion trends are changing day by day. Usually individuals way of dressing changes according to global fashion trends. I strongly believe that social media is the main reason that's why global fashion has effecting more on people's lives. I think it is a negative development for the society.

The primary reason of the influence of fashion trends on person's lives is social media. Nowadays, usually the young generations are more exposing social media like: Instagram, YouTube, Google. all these apps are used to advertise numerous branded accessories such as: bags, shoes, dresses. Consequently, the alterations in global fashion spread over all the world in the blink of an eye and influence people lives. For instance, today every girl want to look attractive for that she follows modern trends. As she scrolls Instagram where she follows famous actors and always prefers to wear cloths like them.

I strongly believe that it is a negative development for the society. As the young people spend there most of pay on buying latest cloths and other accessories as a result, they couldn't be able to fulfil their basic requirements. Consequently, poverty has increased in the country. For instance, in this inflation latest branded cloths are too expensive, nevertheless girls buy them to be more attractive in their circle. Then in the end of month, sometimes they don't have enough money to get basic things like grocery. All these acts affects the whole society badly.

In conclusion, as fashion trends are become popular in modern world it increases poverty in numerous countries. As a result, individuals face difficulties to survive in this inflation.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

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. The position is clear throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the argument that fashion trends cause poverty is a significant leap that lacks nuanced explanation or logical depth. While the student provides examples like Instagram and branded accessories, the connection between these and the broader economic impact on society is not fully explored. To reach a higher band, the student should provide more balanced arguments or more sophisticated reasoning to support their claims.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. There is a basic attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'consequently,' 'for instance,' and 'in conclusion.' However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly inaccurate, such as the repetitive use of 'consequently' to start sentences. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. The progression of ideas is present, but the transitions between the influence of social media and the resulting economic impact could be more effectively linked to improve the overall coherence of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. The student uses basic terms like 'good,' 'bad,' and 'things,' and there are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'has effecting more' instead of 'has had a greater effect' and 'young generations are more exposing social media' instead of 'are more exposed to social media.' While the student attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'branded accessories' and 'inflation,' the overall lexical range is limited, and the errors occasionally draw attention to the language rather than the content.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'individuals way of dressing' (missing possessive apostrophe), 'all these apps are used to advertise' (run-on sentence), and 'young people spend there most of pay' (incorrect pronoun and phrasing). Subject-verb agreement and preposition usage are inconsistent throughout the text. While the meaning is generally conveyed, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar and sentence construction prevents the essay from reaching a higher band score.

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

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