Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-29
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)
Several aspects of the way people dress in present are influenced by international fashion trends. Overall, it is a negative development, while offering some benefits.
The main reason for it being a negative development is that, because of global fashion trends such as fast fashion has a incredible negative impact on environment. The fast fashion promotes an idea that wearing same cloth for a longer period of time is not sensible, because of this idea people tend to buy new cloths very often, resulting in more production of clothes and older cloths being wasteful. This heavily impact in increase of carbon dioxide in atmosphere. The another problem is that the older cloths is pilling up in the dumbpsters, it is increasing pollution so far.
Furthermore, the traditional cultures and fashion is fading away because of global fashion trends. For instance, In India for several years there was a traditional dressing of Kurta, Lungi and Turban. However, over the years because of the influence of fashion trends from western world has now completely changed the dressing sense of Indian people, wearing Shirts and Jeans. Eventhough, there are some benefits of fashion trends like modern style have mutliple ocasional dressing style rather than limited clothing options. For example, Summer outfits are diffrent then Winter outfits. Fashion trends has developed clothing according to the comfort of individuals while looking attractive.
In conclusion, numerous aspects of the way people dress today are influenced by global fashion trends. In my opinion, it is a negative development as it harms environment and cultures, while having some little benefits to it.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response addresses both parts of the prompt: how global fashion became influential, and whether this is a positive or negative development. The writer takes a clear position, stating that it is predominantly a negative development while acknowledging some benefits, such as seasonal comfort. Ideas are presented and supported with relevant examples, such as the shift in Indian traditional clothing towards western attire and the environmental impact of fast fashion. However, some arguments lack full extension, and the explanation of how fashion became influential relies heavily on general statements rather than deep historical or media analysis. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, placing this response at Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression of ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with distinct introduction, body, and conclusion sections. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'Furthermore', 'For instance', and 'In conclusion', though some referencing is faulty or mechanical (e.g., 'The another problem is that...' and 'Eventhough, there are some benefits...'). Paragraph transitions could be smoother, and some sentences feel disjointed due to structural awkwardness. Nevertheless, the central message remains clear throughout, justifying a Band 6.0 for this criterion.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'traditional cultures', 'environmental impact', and 'occasional dressing style'. However, there are numerous word choice and collocation errors that detract from precision, such as 'in present' instead of 'at present', 'an incredible negative impact' instead of 'an incredibly negative impact', 'older cloths being wasteful', and 'dumbpsters' instead of 'dumpsters'. Furthermore, repetitive use of basic words like 'clothes', 'fashion', and 'trends' limits the lexical score. These frequent minor errors place the response firmly at Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including relative clauses and conditional structures. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, featuring frequent errors such as subject-verb agreement issues ('fashion trends such as fast fashion has'), incorrect article usage ('in increase', 'the western world'), fragment sentences ('The fast fashion promotes...'), and spelling mistakes ('mutliple', 'ocasional', 'diffrent'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are persistent throughout the text and demonstrate limited control over complex structures, resulting in a Band 5.0 score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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