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 modern era, fashion choices are increasingly growing and changing due to global trends in the frame. This trend has highly influenced people's garment selection in many parts of the world. This essay will discuss both the positive and negative sides of the development before I explain why I think it is positive.

The principal benefit of the trend toward global fashion becoming so solid in individuals' lives is that every kind of fashion attire is valued. When a very popular fashion trend of cargo pants arrived probably from the States, gradually all countries' young individuals started to buy them. To be more precise, a fashion trend has completely no boundaries and it is totally worn by every individual regardless their age. For instance, if a foreign national wears an Indian saree, it is likely said that, they have solid influence of India's culture and social media being one of easiest source of influence could be possible too. Therefore, global trends of fashion have imprinted a positive impact as many people choose to wear it.

Despite the positive referred above, I believe that global fashion trends can be a negative development. Many individuals view that global trends can ruin the traditional roots of a country. This is because public figures like celebrities are frequently observed carrying international fashion in their domestic country in not-so appealing way and disrespecting the tradition Indian clothes. For instance, if a celebrity promotes an advertisement on a occasion of Indian festival - Rakshabandhan, celebrities are supposed to dress in a decent outfit and not to carry international trends. Hence,

In conclusion, while I admit the negative aspects of the way people dress these days. However, I consider it to be positive development in general as there is no restriction to it and considerably valued across most nations.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, exploring how global fashion influences lives and presenting a view on whether this is positive or negative. The student clearly states a position in the introduction, writing, 'I think it is positive.' However, the development of ideas in the body paragraphs is occasionally muddled and lacks full clarity. For instance, the second paragraph attempts to explain why global fashion is valuable by discussing cargo pants and an Indian saree, but the logical connection becomes slightly convoluted with the mention of social media. Furthermore, the third paragraph intended to show a negative aspect, but the explanation regarding celebrities promoting international fashion during a traditional festival is somewhat unclear and trails off. Overall, the task is addressed, but the support and extension of ideas remain limited in places, aligning the response with a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraph breaks that separate the introduction, body arguments, and conclusion. However, cohesion at the sentence level is at times faulty and mechanical. The student attempts to use transitional markers, such as 'To be more precise' and 'Therefore', but their application occasionally disrupts the natural flow of ideas. For instance, the sentence starting with 'Hence,' in the third paragraph is left incomplete, indicating a breakdown in structural control. Referencing is also ambiguous in places, such as 'many people choose to wear it', where the pronoun antecedent is imprecise. Paragraphing is used adequately to structure the discussion, but the mechanical transitions and occasional tracking errors prevent the response from achieving a higher score.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'garment selection', 'portrayed', and 'boundaries'. However, there are frequent inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and phrasing throughout the text. Examples include 'fashion choices are increasingly growing and changing due to global trends in the frame' and 'solid influence', which sound unnatural in English. Additionally, minor spelling and word-form issues occur, such as 'regardless their age' instead of 'regardless of their age'. While these lexical inadequacies and awkward collocations occasionally strain the reader's understanding, the vocabulary remains sufficient to convey the main arguments, supporting a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and relative clauses, such as 'When a very popular fashion trend of cargo pants arrived probably from the States...' However, the grammatical control is inconsistent, and frequent errors persist. Notable issues include incomplete sentences, such as the dangling 'Hence,' at the end of the third body paragraph, and awkward syntactic structures like 'it is likely said that, they have solid influence'. There are also prepositional omissions, such as 'on a occasion' instead of 'on an occasion'. Although the meaning is usually retrievable and these errors rarely completely impede communication, the density of grammatical slips keeps the performance within the Band 5.5 category.

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