Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-20
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)
Nowadays, fashion is becoming popular and many aspects of dressing of certain individuals inspired by global fashion trends. I believe multiple online social media platforms and celebrities are the major reason for such a strong influence in people lives. In my opinion, this deveopment has certain disdvantages.
In this digital world, fashion trends can spread easily via online social media platforms like facebook, instagram, whatsapp, and snapchat which affects the people minds to copy the trend. For instance, individual can comfortably upload their outfits pictures and videos, which can be veiwed globally and if that post gains popularity then people influenced to follow the same fashion in order to become famous. Another strong reason is celebrities create new fashions and designs to make them standout from their competitors and look unique so they can attract more followers.
Moving to the pros of this development, people following celebrities and trends often forget their own beautiful culture and later feel shamed to following it. For example, people from rural area when shifts to urban area they influenced by the city trends or fashion following by celebrities so they change their style and becomes use to it even if its inappropriate and forget their roots, and when they visit back to their home at villages they feel uncomfortable and feel ashamed in following their culture, which results in feeling guilt
All in all, social media mediums and celebrities are the major reasons for the strong influence of global fashion. Consequently, I think this development brings drawbacks to the society in terms inapproriate fashion.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You address both questions by identifying social media and celebrities as sources of global fashion’s influence, and you state that you see the development as negative. The examples about sharing outfit photos and people changing their style after moving to a city are relevant. However, the discussion is only partly developed: the explanation of how popularity leads people to copy trends is brief, and the final example does not clearly show why this change is harmful beyond feeling uncomfortable or guilty. There is also a mismatch when you introduce “the pros” but then describe a disadvantage. Develop the effects more clearly and consistently, and explain your position with a specific, well-supported reason.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion, and the main ideas are generally grouped by topic. Linking phrases such as “For instance,” “Another strong reason” and “All in all” help signal examples and the ending. However, progression is uneven: the paragraph beginning “Moving to the pros” actually presents a negative effect, which disrupts the reader’s understanding of the argument. Some connections between ideas are also unclear, particularly the shift from urban fashion to shame about cultural clothing. Use paragraph topic sentences that accurately state each paragraph’s purpose, and make the cause-and-effect links explicit. More precise referencing would also help readers follow who is influenced and when.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “global fashion trends,” “social media platforms,” “celebrities,” “competitors” and “culture.” This gives the response enough language to communicate its main points. However, the range is limited and several word choices or combinations sound unnatural, such as “aspects of dressing,” “affects the people minds,” “outfits pictures” and “in terms inappropriate fashion.” Spelling errors, including “veiwed,” “deveopment” and “disdvantages,” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise collocations and check spelling carefully; for example, describe people as being “influenced by trends” and refer to “photos of their outfits.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including a conditional structure in “if that post gains popularity then people influenced to follow the same fashion.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors recur in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction. For example, “people influenced” needs a finite verb, while “individual can” and “people minds” show missing or incorrect grammatical marking. The long sentence about people moving from rural to urban areas contains several linked clauses without reliable control, making the meaning harder to follow. Practise building accurate sentences with one main clause and a clearly connected subordinate clause, then check subject–verb agreement, articles and punctuation.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.