Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-12

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In some parts of the world, people buy far too many clothes.

What are the reasons for this?
How can people be persuaded to reduce the number of clothes they buy?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 6.0)

Around the world it has become common practice to purchase a number of clothing items on a regular basis. Some find this practice a way of wasting money and they discourage people who indulge in such activities. I myself condemn spending a huge sum of money on clothes regularly.

Every week fashion statements change and many people follow it religiously. There is a stigma in repeating clothes in our society nowadays. People notice what you wear and how many times someone repeats a particular outfit. To avoid mocking and gossip individuals are very cautious of what outfit they wear when meeting the same circle again, in another gathering. Social media also plays a part in encouraging over shopping. People enjoy posting pictures to portray a certain lifestyle they are living and most of the time is pretentious. To post pictures everyday, people get stuck in this cycle of shopping. Advertisements also have a major role in tempting people to shop.

In retrospective, there are many youtube channels getting popular, which help customers in giving styling ideas. Ways in which they can style a particular piece that is different from their usual style. For instance, a pair of jeans can be styled with a button down or to make it more formal pair it with a blazer instead. Awareness should be spread in how less but staple clothing pieces can create multiple different outfit options.

Recycling should be encouraged, passing down clothes to siblings or even to people who cant afford is a good initiative. This helps to declutter and provide for the needy.

To conclude,over shopping to follow trends should be discouraged instead other ways of restyling the same clothes in our wardrobe should be practised.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both parts of the question and maintain a clear view that excessive clothing purchases should be discouraged. The reasons are relevant: changing fashion, pressure not to repeat outfits, social-media image-making, and advertising. Your suggestions—using styling advice to create more outfits from staple pieces and passing clothes on—also respond to the task. However, some points are asserted rather than fully explained. For example, the role of advertising is mentioned but not illustrated, and the recycling suggestion could explain more directly how it would reduce new purchases. The example of styling jeans is useful, though further explanation of how this changes buying habits would strengthen the response. Develop each main idea with a clear cause-and-effect explanation or a specific example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on causes, a paragraph on solutions, and a conclusion. The progression from social pressure to practical ways of reusing clothes is easy to follow, and examples such as styling jeans help connect the advice to the topic. However, some links between ideas are abrupt. The sentence beginning “In retrospective” shifts to solutions without clearly signalling that change, and the final paragraph largely repeats the recommendation to restyle clothes rather than drawing the main points together. Some references, such as “this practice” and “this cycle,” could be more precise. Use clearer transitions between causes and solutions, and organise each paragraph around a more explicit central point.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “fashion statements,” “stigma,” “pretentious,” “staple clothing pieces,” and “declutter.” These choices show some willingness to use less common language, and the meaning is generally clear. There is also some variety in how you describe social pressure and clothing reuse. At times, however, word choice or collocation is awkward: “purchase a number of clothing items on a regular basis” is wordy, “over shopping” is not the most natural expression, and “help customers in giving styling ideas” is imprecise. “In retrospective” is also an unsuitable phrase in this context. To move further, choose more natural collocations and use precise terms such as “overconsumption” or “outfit repetition” where appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including explanations with “To avoid…” and a conditional-style example of how jeans can be styled. Most ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors and punctuation problems are noticeable. For example, “Every week fashion statements change and many people follow it” has a pronoun-agreement problem, while “most of the time is pretentious” is missing a clear subject. The sentence “Ways in which they can style a particular piece…” is a fragment, and “To conclude,over shopping” needs spacing after the comma. Review sentence completeness, agreement, and punctuation, and check that longer sentences contain a clear subject and main verb.

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