Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-13
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 recent decades, a significant number of people are passionate about global fashion trends and they are influenced by actors, film stars and advertisements. Conversely, some individuals think that it is directly affecting to culture because these days people's dressing sense is gradually changing. while this trend offers certain some drawbacks, making it both a positive and negative development.
On the one hand, nowadays after watching advertisement on social media their curiosity increase for buying new clothes. This is because a lot of people are using smart phones and television for entertainment purpose. Therefore, fashion brands such as Zara, Nike and Jordan run ads through prominent personality, which encourage to public for buying their brands clothes. Furthermore, there are numerous advantages since people have many choices in fashion clothes they can experience other culture and gain their knowledge about other traditions, even it very convenient for physical activities. A clear example of this modern clothes are very comfortable because people can exercise and running easily after wearing clothes.
On the other hand, there are also some drawbacks which make a negative trend. individuals are forgetting about their culture rituals and it is affecting environment. The main reason for this that people are losing gradually their traditions fundamentals and people are cutting tree substantial amount. For instance, companies are manufacturing clothes, shoes and beauty products. Thus, brands cut trees which is impacting on environment.
In conclusion, fashion creates a lot of option in outfit and they can experience other traditions. conversely, it make several problems because jungle deforestation increase for manufacturing clothes.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing the reasons for the strong influence of global fashion (such as social media advertisements and celebrity endorsement) and providing a viewpoint on whether it is a positive or negative development. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the discussion on why global fashion has become influential touches on social media and smartphones, but the explanation remains basic. Similarly, the arguments for the positive and negative aspects lack depth and rely on over-generalised points, such as mentioning exercise comfort or tree cutting without detailed extension. According to the band descriptors, this represents a Band 6 performance, as all parts of the task are addressed, but some areas are under-developed.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay presents an overall coherent arrangement with clear paragraphing, dividing the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion adequately. Transitional phrases such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand' are used to structure the text. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, the sentence 'while this trend offers certain some drawbacks, making it both a positive and negative development' is grammatically incomplete and fails to link smoothly into the surrounding text. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as the pronoun use in 'and they can experience other traditions.' Overall, the organizational structure is visible and logical, supporting a Band 6 score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-related terms such as 'global fashion trends', 'advertisements', 'culture rituals', and 'deforestation'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, but these are often accompanied by inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'dressing sense', 'traditions fundamentals', and 'jungle deforestation increase'. Additionally, there are repetitive lexical choices throughout the text, like 'clothes' and 'manufacturing'. These errors do not impede communication, placing the response solidly at Band 5.5 to Band 6.0. Given the presence of noticeable word choice flaws, a Band 5.5 is appropriate.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and subordinate structures like 'because a lot of people are using smart phones' and 'when this trend offers...'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb tenses, prepositions, and sentence fragments, such as 'is directly affecting to culture', 'encourage to public for buying', and the incomplete sentence opening the essay. Errors like 'people are losing gradually their traditions fundamentals' display weak control over word order in complex structures. While meaning is generally conveyed, the frequency of errors places this response at Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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