Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-12
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)
Today people's dressing styles are mostly influenced by international fashion trends. This essay will discuss the reasons of strong influence of these trends on the lives of individuals before discussing why i strongly believe, it is a negative development.
On the one hand, social media is promoting the latest fashion trends on a large scale. People from all over the world share the pictures of their latest clothes, jewelleries and bags on internet to impress others and our females mostly play an important role in this trend. Moreover, drama and shooting industries are keeping the people connected to fashion trends by promoting the designer dresses by their models and actors. People mostly teenagers try to copy these trends in their lives.
On the other hand, today latest technologies such as shopify stores and websites allow people to explore variety of modern dresses and shoes through just scrolling and putting orders through online payments and receiving their orders through shipments from one country to another.
I strongly believe it is a negative development, following the global fashion trends can cause wastage of money which otherwise can be invested in the betterment of education in urprivildged areas. Following these trends can cause a sense of competitions among people.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
You address both questions: social media, entertainment industries and online shopping are offered as reasons for fashion’s influence, and you clearly state that you consider it negative. However, the response is only 206 words, below the required 250, and this contributes to ideas being limited and under-developed. For example, you mention that social media shares clothing images and that teenagers copy trends, but do not explain how this exposure shapes everyday choices or provide a specific example. Your negative view is also supported briefly by the cost of fashion and competition, without developing the effects. Expand each main point with explanation or an example, and make the conclusion of your argument more complete.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, paragraphs presenting causes and a final paragraph giving your opinion. The signposts “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” help readers identify the shift between causes, while “I strongly believe” introduces your position. However, the progression is not fully clear: the two “hand” paragraphs both explain causes, rather than presenting contrasting sides, and the final paragraph moves abruptly from causes to disadvantages. Some links are also mechanical, and the final ideas are not connected or developed into a clear closing point. Organise the causes together, then give a separate, developed paragraph on the negative effects, using references and transitions that show how each idea relates to the previous one.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “global fashion trends,” “designer dresses,” “online payments” and “wastage of money.” There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “betterment of education.” However, several choices and combinations are inaccurate or unnatural, including “jewelleries,” “drama and shooting industries,” and “a sense of competitions.” Repetition of “trends,” “people” and “fashion” also limits the range. These issues do not prevent the reader from understanding your overall message, but they make some points less precise. Aim to use natural collocations and more varied wording—for example, “entertainment industry,” “a sense of competition,” and “spend money on following trends.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the opening sentence and the clause “following the global fashion trends can cause wastage of money which otherwise can be invested…”. The main meaning is generally understandable, but errors in sentence construction and punctuation sometimes make the writing less controlled. For example, “People mostly teenagers try to copy” needs clearer punctuation or a revised structure, and the opening sentence’s “before discussing why i strongly believe” is awkwardly joined. Capitalisation is also inconsistent, as in lowercase “i,” and the final sentence would benefit from a clearer grammatical link to the preceding point. Practise building accurate complex sentences and checking punctuation, capital letters and clause connections.
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