Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-28

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 years, how people dress has been influenced by global fashion trends because of globalistation . People nowadays can see how others are dressing nowadays by just sitting at their home . From my perspective, I believe this is a positive development because people get to share the same sense of style and belongings.

One of the main reasons why people are getting influenced by global fashion trends is the increasing use of social media, where people can watch what other people are wearing on daily basis and easily get influenced by that and follow the same fashion.

Online platforms such as instagram, tiktok, facebook where celebrities share their stories, post and nowadays it's very trending to share fitchecks where people show their fit. So their followers see all that and get influenced by their favourite celebrites and wear the same fit to feel confident .

From my perspective this is a very positive change because people across the globe get to share same sense of belonging, style which brings them close despite of their cultural differences. For eg teenagers they see how people are dressing globally and develop the same sense of dressing which allows them to feel connected through fashion . From my experience I also got a chance to develop my fashion sense by looking at a people globally through which I feel very connected to other people of my age across the globe despite having cultural differences with them . As a result, this shared fashion culture can improve relationships between people from different backgrounds

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: how global fashion has become influential and whether this is a positive or negative development. The writer presents a clear position that the development is positive, supporting this with ideas related to social media, connectivity, and a shared sense of belonging. However, the development of ideas remains somewhat superficial and repetitive, particularly in the third and fourth paragraphs where the focus heavily reiterates connection and teenagers without introducing broader or more deeply explored dimensions. While all prompts are addressed, the ideas are extended rather than fully developed in a sophisticated manner. This aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors, where relevant ideas are presented but some are under-developed or repetitive.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear stance introduced in the opening paragraph and maintained throughout. Paragraphing is attempted, but the paragraph structure is fragmented; several paragraphs consist of single, overly brief sentences or repetitive blocks of text rather than fully cohesive units. Cohesive devices such as 'One of the main reasons' and 'As a result' are used to connect ideas, but referencing and linking can become mechanical. For example, the transition between paragraphs relies heavily on repetitive phrasing rather than smooth logical progression. Overall, the organizational structure meets the criteria for Band 6, featuring a logical overall flow with some faulty or mechanical cohesion and suboptimal paragraphing.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms related to the prompt such as 'global fashion trends', 'social media', 'celebrities', and 'cultural differences'. However, there are notable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'globalistation' instead of 'globalisation', 'fitchecks' and 'fit' used informally, and repetitive reliance on words like 'influenced' and 'dressing'. While the writer attempts less common vocabulary, inaccuracies in spelling and collocation prevent the score from reaching a higher band. The lexical range is sufficient to communicate meaning clearly, which fits the Band 6 descriptor well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over sentence architecture with relative clauses and subordinate structures like 'because people across the globe get to share same sense of belonging'. However, there are persistent grammatical errors and punctuation issues throughout the text, including missing articles ('sit at their home', 'share same sense'), punctuation errors in listing online platforms ('instagram, tiktok, facebook'), and run-on structures. Despite these errors, communication is rarely impeded, and the meaning remains clear. This balance of mixed structures and frequent minor errors is characteristic of Band 6 grammatical performance.

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