Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-19

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)

There has been an ongoing debate about the dressing sense of the people of modern age. The global fashion trends have a great impact on the people's lives as never before. I believe that it is positive development. But it also has some disadvantages.

On the one hand, there are some people who don't even bother to know about fashion trends as they totally rely upon the cultural fashion. They thought that they should dress themselves as their forefathers do. Like in Pakistan, there are a lot of individuals who wear shalwar kameez as it represents their culture. So, they don't even want to be informed about it.

On the other hand, there are also some people who follow the global fashion trends to be updated about it. When people see the others in new styled dresses, they also dream for it which enhance their curiosity and make them passionate to buy it. For instance, when people see their favourite actor wearing different dresses, they also become more curios for that dress.

It's main disadvantage is that the people may lose their time and money on the things that may not be beneficial for them such as buying expensive things as they saw on the internet or anything else. Secondly, by following the global trends, people may become less interested to their culture.

From my perspective, if we follow the global trends within their limits, they can be beneficial for us. But if we pay too much in these things, we may not able to get its benefits.

In conclusion, global fashion has influenced people's lives. It's a positive development if we follow it in limits. If we becames over passionte about it, it may not be as good for us.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions and state a clear overall view: global fashion is positive when followed in moderation, though it has drawbacks. The examples of shalwar kameez in Pakistan and people copying an actor’s clothing are relevant. However, the explanation of how fashion became influential is only partly developed: you describe people seeing styles and wanting them, but do not explain the channels that spread trends, such as social media, advertising, or international brands. The positive case is also less convincing than the disadvantages, and the conclusion repeats your position rather than drawing the reasons together. Develop each main point with a clearer explanation and a specific example to make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, contrasting body paragraphs, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion. Signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the structure. However, the first body paragraph focuses on people who do not follow trends, which interrupts the explanation of how global fashion exerts influence. Some links between ideas are also mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “also” and the sequence “Secondly.” References such as “it” in “they also dream for it” are not fully clear. Organise the body around the causes of influence and the effects, and use more precise links between each claim and its example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “global fashion trends,” “cultural fashion,” “expensive,” and “beneficial.” There are also attempts at less common expressions, such as “ongoing debate” and “passionate,” but some choices are inaccurate or unnatural and reduce precision. For example, “dressing sense” and “new styled dresses” do not express the intended ideas naturally; “curios” is also an incorrect form. Repetition of “people,” “fashion trends,” and “follow” limits the range. Aim for more precise collocations and vary your wording, for example by using terms for trend exposure, consumer influence, and cultural identity. Check spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “as” and “when,” and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, errors occur across sentence patterns and sometimes make relationships unclear. Examples include “it is positive development” (missing an article), “They thought” after a present-tense general statement, and “which enhance their curiosity” (agreement). The construction “less interested to their culture” also has an incorrect grammatical pattern, while “we may not able to” omits a verb. There is some variety, but complex sentences are not consistently controlled. Practise article use, subject–verb agreement, consistent tense for general claims, and complete verb constructions; then proofread each sentence for these patterns.

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