Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-05
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 today’s interconnected world, fashion plays an important role in shaping people’s lifestyles and personal identities. Many elements of the way people dress are increasingly influenced by fashion trends that originate and spread across different countries. I strongly agree that most people today are intrigued by global fashion, and I consider it to be a negative development.
First of all, in today's world, people are fascinated by what influencers do on social media. By this, I mean that social media is deeply integrated into our daily routines. Considering daily usage of social media and consuming global content, one gets very fascinated with global fashion as well. Social media trends further uplift their interests. This means that even if you don't like a certain fashion trend at that moment, after watching hundreds of reels, you will eventually start liking that fashion. That is the power of social media. Being influenced by global fashion just to fit in with society and the social media world, in my opinion, means an individual loses their creativity and sense of style.
However, some people argue that being influenced by global fashion trends is a positive development, as it allows people to explore different cultures and the latest trends. Nevertheless, this reason doesnt seems sufficent to me. As individuals are fascinated by global fashion just to fit in the society, which in my opinion lose of indivituality and uniqueness and each person has.
In conclusion, although global fashion has some benefits, I believe its growing influence is largely a negative development.
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 both parts of the prompt: the influence of global fashion and the writer's opinion on whether it is positive or negative. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While the role of social media is identified as a key driver, the explanation remains repetitive, focusing heavily on the idea of 'fitting in' without exploring other facets of global influence, such as economic or cultural exchange. The conclusion is brief and lacks a summary of the main points. To reach a higher band, the arguments need more depth and specific examples beyond general statements about social media reels.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'First of all', 'However', and 'In conclusion' are used to signal the structure. However, the referencing is occasionally mechanical, and some transitions between sentences feel abrupt. For instance, the link between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother. The use of paragraphing is appropriate, but the internal cohesion within the second paragraph is slightly repetitive, which hinders the flow of the argument.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their opinion clearly. There is some attempt to use topic-specific language like 'interconnected world', 'personal identities', and 'global content'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'lose of indivituality' and 'doesnt seems sufficent'. The repetition of words like 'fascinated' and 'fashion' suggests a need for a broader range of synonyms and more precise collocations to demonstrate a higher level of lexical 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 several grammatical errors that persist throughout the text. Examples include 'doesnt seems sufficent' (subject-verb agreement and spelling), 'lose of indivituality' (incorrect word form), and 'each person has' (fragmented structure). These errors do not impede communication, but they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, the writer should focus on subject-verb agreement, consistent verb tense usage, and ensuring that complex sentences are constructed accurately.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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