Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-12

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 6.5)

In today's world, everyone wants to look attractive and presentable; therefore, they spend a lot of money to buy new apparel. There are many reasons that are driving this trend in society. This essay will discuss the reasons and ways to reduce these purchases with relevant examples.

To begin with, nowadays clothes are very cheap because there are lots of online websites and applications that offer heavy discounts to attract shoppers. As a result, many people do unnecessary shopping and spend money. Moreover, marketing campaigns and ads play a vital role behind these purchases. In today's time, branded companies invest heavily on marketing to attract customers; hence, many people get tempted for shopping because of these advertisements.

There are many ways to reduce the number of clothes that people buy. First and foremost, instead of buying new apparel, people should adopt alternative options such as second- hand clothes, clothes swaps, and reparing worn items instead of buying a new one. Consequently, it would definitely help people to reduce the purchase of new clothes. What is more, the government can impose heavy taxes on new purchases of garments. As a result, people will look for other options rather than spending money on shopping. For example, in Germany, the government has imposed a heavy tax on the purchase of branded clothes. Because people are becoming financially broke and not able to afford the basic supplies for their daily lives.

To sum up, people buy new clothes because they are cheap and fashion changes quickly. Nevertheless, people should choose to wear second-hand clothes because it has an environmental impact as well as financial impact on their lives.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The student addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the reasons for excessive clothing purchases (cheap online prices, heavy discounting, and aggressive marketing campaigns) and solutions to reduce them (second-hand shopping, clothing swaps, repairs, and government taxation). The position is clear throughout the essay. The ideas are relevant and supported, although some supporting details, such as the example regarding Germany's taxation policies, contain factual inaccuracies or over-generalizations. Nevertheless, the main parts of the task are adequately covered and extended, satisfying the descriptors for Band 6.5 to Band 7.0. Because the response is fully developed and well-focused on the prompt, it comfortably sits within a Band 7.0 performance for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear overall progression and logical organization. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, beginning with an introduction, moving to the reasons for the trend in the second paragraph, exploring solutions in the third paragraph, and concluding nicely. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'As a result', 'Moreover', and 'First and foremost' are used to guide the reader through the text, although some devices feel slightly mechanical or repetitive in their placement. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately throughout the response. The referencing within paragraphs is generally clear, meaning the progression of ideas is easy to follow. Overall, this meets the criteria for Band 6.5, leaning towards Band 7.0 due to the clear structure and logical flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully using terms such as 'presentable', 'apparel', 'marketing campaigns', and 'alternative options'. There are some attempts at less common lexical items, such as 'heavily discounts' (which should be 'heavy discounts') and 'reparing' (a spelling error for 'repairing'). Minor word-choice and collocation issues appear, such as 'get tempted for shopping' instead of 'tempted to go shopping'. However, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the message clearly without impeding communication. These characteristics align well with the Band 6.0 descriptor, where the range is adequate and attempts at less common vocabulary are accompanied by some minor errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures. There are several grammatical errors and punctuation slips throughout the response, such as 'instead of buying a new one' following a plural subject ('clothes'), and a sentence fragment in the third paragraph ('Because people are becoming financially broke...'). Despite these errors, communication is rarely impeded, and the majority of simple structures are accurate. The control of grammar is fairly consistent, though errors in verb agreement and sentence boundaries prevent the writer from achieving a higher band. This performance is characteristic of Band 6.0, featuring a mix of structures alongside some recurring grammatical errors.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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