Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Clothes are purchased in every corner of the world, while some consumers like to purchase too many clothes than others. Although there are a few main issues associated with this, educating buyers may certainly be beneficial to motivate them to buy as required.

The most prominent reason for buying numerous clothes is their affordability of buying them.

Since non-branded garments are cheaply priced and easily available to purchase, people tend to buy in bulk rather than buying individually. For example, buyers are keen to buy several items of attire to change frequently. Another reason is linked to availability. A plethora of fashionable clothes are available in the market, although those can be copies of premium clothes, thereby leading individuals to buy in bulk. 

Discussing the solutions, the main one is that people should be provided with the required knowledge, as people prefer the cheapest to buy without checking the fabric quality. If people are educated enough to differentiate the quality of clothes, they may be less likely to buy several cheaper clothes. For example, most shoppers are influenced by advertisements associated with sales on particular types of clothes, which makes them buy more without even thinking whether they actually need those or not. Moreover, it is incumbent upon governments to compel industries to manufacture high-quality garments to reduce the manufacturing of low-quality ones. Consequently, the production of good-quality clothes would be expensive to buy, which can make people buy less to save money.

In conclusion, affordability and availability have encouraged consumers to buy several clothes; I believe this driving trend can be overcome with the help of the government and increasing knowledge regarding this among them.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student addresses both parts of the prompt, discussing the reasons for buying too many clothes (affordability and availability) and offering solutions (educating consumers and government intervention). A clear position is maintained throughout the response. However, the development of ideas lacks some depth and specificity. For instance, the discussion on affordability relies on general statements like 'non-branded garments are cheaply priced' rather than exploring psychological or fast-fashion drivers thoroughly. Similarly, the solution involving government compulsion on manufacturers is somewhat superficial. While all parts are addressed, the ideas would benefit from greater elaboration and more precise examples to reach a higher band. Overall, the response meets the baseline requirements for Task Achievement at Band 6.5, providing a relevant and clear overview of the prompt's demands.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is coherent overall with a clear four-paragraph structure. Each paragraph has a discernible focus, moving from an introduction to reasons, solutions, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used throughout, such as 'Although,' 'For example,' 'Another reason,' and 'Consequently.' However, some cohesive referencing feels slightly mechanical or awkward, as seen in phrases like 'Discussing the solutions, the main one is that...' or 'regarding this among them' in the conclusion, where the pronoun reference is slightly ambiguous. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas logically, but transitions between sentences could flow more smoothly to achieve a higher level of cohesion. These limitations place the response comfortably within the Band 6.5 range.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'affordability,' 'plethora,' 'differentiate,' and 'incumbent.' However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies that reveal a restricted command of precise phrasing. For example, the phrase 'buying numerous clothes is their affordability of buying them' is awkward, and 'several clothes' is less natural than 'many clothes' or 'items of clothing.' Additionally, repetition of terms like 'buy' and 'clothes' occurs frequently throughout the text. While these lexical slips do not impede communication, they prevent the vocabulary from reaching a higher band level, making Band 6.0 an accurate reflection of the student's current lexical control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and relative clauses, such as 'Although there are a few main issues associated with this, educating buyers may certainly be beneficial...' and 'If people are educated enough to differentiate the quality of clothes, they may be less likely to buy...' However, there are persistent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, including 'consumers like to purchase too many clothes than others' (incorrect comparative structure) and 'availability of fashionable clothes are available' (subject-verb agreement error with 'are'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and meaning is rarely obscured, allowing communication to succeed despite the structural flaws. These characteristics align with the Band 6.0 descriptors for grammatical range and accuracy.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.