Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-27

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 rapidly evolving world, the topic of fashion trends has sparked considerable debate, with the views divided into two opinions, whether fashion trends are influential for the people dressing sense or not. Why the lives of people are affected so much by the global fashion trends? This essay will discuss in detail about my point of view on this topic with compelling reasons and real world problems.

In the first hand, many people are in the support of the view that peoples' dressing are so much under the effect of global fashion trends. This is correct to some extent as, by the development of technology, specifically internet, people are getting more information about the fashion taking place around the globe. This is enhancing literacy in people on one side but also has drawbacks on the other side. For instance, the development of modeling and TV shows which are on air and everyone can see the models walking on ramp just to get money. But the people has had the negative impact of these shows and they follow these lame trends in their daily lives. Instead of following the decency in their lives, they are getting habitual to what other people do and a sense of competition is prevailing in our society.

Furthermore, Tiktok (which is a social app) is used by everyone now a days and people of every age group is getting addicted to apps like this. Recently I came across a video on Tiktok of an indian girl doing modeling in her rough dresses and showing background of slums. Her videos got popularity over time and she bacame the real model and hired by different fashion designers. She said in her interview that she was obsessed by watching the modelling shows on TV ever since she was a child and she always tried to achieve the new looks by using drapes and sarees of her mother. So, global fashion trends has positive impact on the society as well.

In my perspective, these social trends raise awareness among people about how to get dressed formallly and informally. So, the benefits of following these trends by public carries more advantages than its detrimental effects. Equally important is the fact that this is upto us to use something in a good or bad way which further reinforces my belief on plus sides of copying global trends. These benefits include the long term stability, progress and individual well being. As such, this perspecitve aligns with social needs and individual prosperity.

In conclusion, social media is responsible for the fashion trend to have a influence over the lives of ordinary people. But the gust of the argument supports that it is more beneficial than harmful to reflect sound judgments and to address the modern challenges of the world.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The candidate addresses both parts of the prompt, exploring why global fashion has become influential and whether this is a positive or negative development. A clear position is established and maintained throughout the essay. However, the development of ideas occasionally lacks academic depth and relies on somewhat tangential or anecdotal support, such as the lengthy TikTok example regarding the Indian girl in slums. While the arguments are relevant and supported, the progression can feel slightly disjointed due to abrupt shifts in reasoning. This performance aligns best with the Band 6 descriptor, as all parts of the task are addressed, but some ideas are under-developed or heavily reliant on personal narrative rather than broader socio-cultural analysis.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay is divided into logical paragraphs, each with a discernible focus, though paragraphing and transitions could be more seamless. Cohesive devices are used, but some phrases feel mechanical or awkward, such as 'In the first hand' instead of 'On the one hand'. Referencing is generally clear, but occasional phrasing issues muddy the logical progression of ideas. For example, the transition from the discussion of TV shows to TikTok lacks smooth logical bridging. Nevertheless, there is a coherent overall arrangement that guides the reader through the argument. This performance sits comfortably at Band 6, reflecting adequate overall organisation and paragraphing alongside some mechanical cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The candidate demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'detrimental effects', 'compelling reasons', and 'individual prosperity'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as 'people dressing sense' instead of 'people's dress sense', 'in the support of' instead of 'in support of', and 'bacame' which is a spelling error. Despite these inaccuracies, communication is not impeded, and the meaning remains clear. The vocabulary range and frequency of minor slips align well with the Band 6 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses and conditional-like phrasing (e.g., 'In today's rapidly evolving world, the topic of fashion trends has sparked considerable debate...'). However, grammatical errors are frequent, including missing articles, subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'people of every age group is getting addicted'), and awkward phrasing ('this is upto us'). While these errors do not severely impede communication, they restrict the control of complex structures. This falls under the Band 6 descriptor, where a mix of structures is used with persistent errors that occasionally cause the reader to pause.

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