Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-17

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)

People who live in some regions of the world, purchase so many clothings. One of the major reasons is that shopping makes individuals happy. Also, some people want to wear latest trends and fashions. So they are buying new garments in each and every season. The goverments should have pursuade their citizens to reduce the usage of cloths by stating environmental factors and child labour.

Many people go for shopping as habit to make them feel happy and to get away with their busy life. Especially, women love to purchase new clothes. As example, clothing shops mainly target women and they keep women clothing in front of their stores. Additionally, teenagers and young generation prefer to buy trending styles or designer clothes. So they buy clothings occationally. For instance, in North America, China, South Korea and Japan people buy new designer clothes every season and donate used clothes.

This practice has a negative side. Therefore, the governments or authorities should be able persuade their community by explaning envionmental harm occurs from high garment production. For example, gas relase by garment manufacturing factories badly affect the envionment. Further, some factories are using child labour to produce clothings at a low price. Thus, the authorities should make people aware of these incidents. For instance, child labour is more popular in Bangaladesh.

In conlcusion, in some countries people purchase too many garments because it makes them happy and some of them like follow latest styles and trends. This practice badly affects the enviornment and children in some parts of the world. Hence, relevant authorities should persuade people to reduce the number of clothing theu buy.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing the reasons why people buy excessive clothes, such as shopping for happiness and following trends, and suggesting ways people can be persuaded to reduce consumption through environmental awareness and child labour concerns. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and relies on sweeping generalisations. For instance, the statement 'clothing shops mainly target women and they keep women clothing in front of their stores' is a simplistic observation rather than a fully developed argument. While a clear position is maintained throughout, the supporting examples lack depth. Consequently, the response meets the baseline requirements for Band 6, as all parts of the task are addressed, but the ideas require greater expansion and substantiation to reach a higher band level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph structure. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, moving from an introduction to reasons, solutions, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Also', 'Additionally', and 'Thus', though some transitions feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. For example, the writer relies heavily on 'For instance' and 'For example' to introduce examples. Furthermore, referencing is occasionally imprecise, such as in the final sentence where 'the number of clothing theu buy' contains a typographical error and a slightly ambiguous pronoun link. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas logically, supporting an overall score in the Band 6 range.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate their ideas clearly. There are several attempts at less common and topic-specific vocabulary, such as 'environmental factors', 'garment manufacturing factories', and 'designer clothes'. However, there are numerous lexical errors and non-standard word forms throughout the text. Examples include 'clothings' (clothing is uncountable), 'goverments', 'pursuade', 'occationally', 'explaning', 'envionmental', 'relase', and 'enviornment'. These frequent spelling mistakes and word-formation errors indicate limited control over less common lexical items, preventing the score from rising above Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures such as subordinate clauses ('People who live in some regions of the world, purchase...') and conditional or causal links ('So they are buying...'). However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors in verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, and articles. Examples include 'purchase so many clothings', 'The goverments should have pursuade', 'gas relase by', and 'the number of clothing theu buy'. Punctuation and spelling errors also recur. While these errors do not completely impede communication, their frequency means that error-free sentences are not in the majority, placing the performance firmly in the Band 5 category.

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

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