Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-15

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)

It is widely acknowledged that in some parts of the world, people excessively shop clothing items. The mindset of individuals and the poor quality of fabric are significant contributors to the rise in this trend. Lifestyle bloggers and government strategies could play a key role in making the masses aware of the benefits of sustainability.

There has been a change in the attitude of individuals. On a psychological level, wardrobe is associated with a higher social status. Hence, anyone seen wearing a repeated outfit is perceived as inferior. To cater to the increasing demand of clothes, clothing companies are mass producing new items. As a result, they focus on quantity rather than quality. This entices people to shop more, in order to keep their wardrobe up to date. For example, every time H&M launches a new collection the clothes get out of stock really fast, despite the launches being very frequent. Therefore, indicating how a new collection regardless of innovation in design or a need by consumer is widely brought just to own something from the latest release,

Lifestyle bloggers can use their influence and help in promoting sustainability. For instance, they could actively make social media posts explaining viewers how different combinations could be made by styling the very same items that are already present in their wardrobe. Governments could employ strategies that offer financial incentives towards recycling clothes. For instance, they could make it mandatory for every clothing store to have a tailor, particularly expert in repairing clothes. The service charges should be affordable. As a result, people will place a greater preference for repairing and restyling clothes instead of investing in new.

In conclusion, people purchase far too many clothes for reasons like displaying wealth by never being seen in a repeated outfit and due to the fast fashion trend. Lifestyle influencers and Governments could offer better alternatives strategies to help decrease this habit in the individuals.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response fully addresses all parts of the task. It investigates clear reasons for excessive clothing purchases, such as social status, psychological associations with wardrobe repetition, and fast fashion mass production. Furthermore, it proposes actionable solutions regarding the influence of lifestyle bloggers and government recycling strategies. The position is clear throughout, and ideas are extended and supported with relevant examples, such as the mention of H&M collections. The main concepts are appropriately expanded, demonstrating a well-developed argument that meets all requirements of the prompt successfully.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information and ideas are coherently structured into an introduction, body paragraphs addressing causes and solutions separately, and a clear conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately. Cohesive devices are employed with reasonable flexibility, such as 'On a psychological level', 'Hence', and 'For instance'. However, there is a minor mechanical error in punctuation and referencing at the end of the second paragraph where a comma splice occurs instead of a full stop: '...latest release,'. Aside from this occasional glitch in cohesion, the flow of ideas remains smooth and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The writer demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary with some flexibility and precision, such as 'excessively shop', 'psychological level', 'mass producing', and 'sustainability'. There is an attempt to use less common items with general awareness of style and collocation, although minor infelicities occur, such as 'shop clothing items' instead of 'buy clothing items' and 'widely brought' instead of 'widely bought'. Spelling is generally accurate, and vocabulary errors do not impede communication, allowing the reader to grasp the intended arguments easily.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and conditional-like phrasing (e.g., 'anyone seen wearing a repeated outfit is perceived as inferior' and 'Governments could employ strategies that offer financial incentives towards recycling clothes'). There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, most notably a sentence fragment and punctuation slip in the second paragraph ('Therefore, indicating how a new collection...'), and minor preposition choices like 'preference for' instead of 'preference for repairing'. Nonetheless, these errors are relatively infrequent and rarely impede overall communication.

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