Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-16

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 5.5)

In most parts of the world, people buy too many clothes and the most common reason of that is the mindset the new generation having for not repeating clothes when they are outing or attending any small or big events. This situation leading to unneccessory waste on the planet.

Today's generation, people believe in showing off each and every small part their life to the world by using social media, where they upload not only where they are going but including what they are wearing and what they are eating. This seems very common reason for people over buying clothes, so that they don't need to repeat their clothes and in their perspective it's embarrasment to wear same outfit in morethan one event. Moreover, they not just buy clothes but also purchase matching accessories such as eyeglasses, watch, purse, etc., with their outfit.

It is very important to persuad, this generation to reduce unwanted or unneccessory buying and educate them that repeating same outfit is not a shameful act. To spread awareness on such issues, local NGOs should reach to celebrities or social media influencers and by making videos on social media platform such as Instagram, Facebook, etc, where this generation spend their most of the time.

Those video should be on explaining how buying non-recyclable products, increase negative impact on the planet.

In conclusion, unwanted buying of any products including clothes and other materialistc item should be decreased, because with the increasing population, such trends can create uncontrolled environmental disaster in future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, exploring the reasons behind excessive clothing purchases, such as social media pressure and the mindset of the new generation, and offering solutions like educational campaigns with influencers. The main ideas are relevant and supported with explanations, such as the fear of embarrassment when repeating outfits. However, the development of ideas remains somewhat general and lacks deeper extension or specific examples from personal experience. For instance, the discussion on social media could have been strengthened by detailing a specific platform trend. Therefore, the response aligns best with Band 6, where all parts are addressed, but some ideas remain under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear progression from causes in the first half to solutions in the second. Paragraphing is utilised to separate distinct ideas, such as the introduction of the problem, the reasons, the solutions, and the conclusion. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. Phrases like 'This situation leading to' and 'It is very important to persuad' disrupt the flow and exhibit grammatical or punctuation errors that affect cohesive ties. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as 'This seems very common reason', where the precise antecedent is blurred. Cohesive devices are present but lack flexibility, placing this performance securely within Band 5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'mindset', 'non-recyclable products', and 'materialistic item'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, including 'unneccessory' instead of unnecessary, 'persuad' instead of persuade, and 'morethan' instead of more than. The phrase 'over buying' and the incorrect collocation 'increase negative impact' rather than 'have a negative impact' demonstrate a limited control of word formation and collocation. These errors cause some distraction for the reader, placing the lexical resource at a Band 5 level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an attempt at relative clauses and participial phrases, such as 'where they upload not only where they are going but including what they are wearing'. However, frequent grammatical errors impede fluency and clarity. There are noticeable issues with verb forms and sentence fragments, such as 'This situation leading to unneccessory waste' (missing auxiliary verb) and 'Those video should be on explaining' (plurality agreement error). Punctuation is also erratic, with misplaced commas breaking up natural clause structures. Because attempts at complex structures frequently result in errors, this corresponds to a Band 5.

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