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)

It is undeniable that people have unprecedented access to clothes and they spend enormous amount of money to buy excessive amount of clothes. The significant reason behind this is that Individuals like to wear different style of clothes for every different occassion to feel more confident and attractive.Although, buying too many dresses brings the feeling of joy, educating individulas about textile waste is imperative.

Consumers whose wardrobe's are full with excessive clothing often stress that different clothing styles are required for different occasions. Formals for the office, joursey's for the gym and pajama's for the night. Because of this an average human has to change atleast 3 pair of clothes everyday, thereby it is crucial to buy too many clothes. Wearing according to the occasion gives the feeling of acceptance and people feel more confident and happy. For instance, people going to the gym wearing dresses or uncomfortable clothes often feel stressed and anxious and are not able todo exercise freely.

Goverment shoud run campaings to educate the population about the textile waste. People should also be encouraged to recyle their old clothes or to gift them to the one's in need. Moreover, increasing tax on the clothes will motivate consumers to not buy new clothes unnecessarily. As before spending lare sums of money one will think twice.

To conclude, Nevertheless, although many individuals buy excessive clothes to look more appealing and attractive at every occasion and to feel more confident, they should also recyle the waste very carefully so that there is minimal damage to the environment.

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 wearing different styles for different occasions to feel confident) and suggesting solutions (like government campaigns, recycling, and taxation). However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the discussion on occasions relies heavily on basic examples like 'formals for the office' and 'pajama's for the night.' The position is generally clear, but the support lacks depth and extension, preventing the response from reaching higher bands. According to the Band 6 descriptors, all parts of the task are addressed, but some areas are under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay has a recognisable overall structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, fitting into four distinct paragraphs. However, logical progression is occasionally hindered by faulty cohesion and mechanical linking devices, such as 'Because of this an average human has to change atleast 3 pair of clothes everyday, thereby it is crucial to buy too many clothes.' Paragraphing is used, but the internal flow within paragraphs is weak. Referencing is also sometimes unclear, and the concluding paragraph contains contradictory and confusing conjunctions like 'To conclude, Nevertheless, although...'. This reflects Band 5 to 6 characteristics, leaning towards a Band 5.5 due to mechanical cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate basic ideas about fashion, waste, and government intervention (e.g., 'textile waste', 'unprecedented access', 'unnecessarily'). However, there are frequent errors in word choice, spelling, and collocation, such as 'enormous amount of money', 'occassion', 'individulas', 'wardrobe's', 'joursey's', and 'lare sums'. Attempts at less common vocabulary sometimes result in unnatural phrasing. These errors do not entirely impede communication, placing the response solidly at Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and concessive clauses ('Although, buying too many dresses brings the feeling of joy...'). However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors in punctuation, articles, subject-verb agreement, and pluralisation (e.g., 'Goverment shoud run campaings', 'gift them to the one's in need', '3 pair of clothes'). Punctuation errors, such as missing spaces after commas and periods, are pervasive throughout the text. While meaning is generally recoverable, the frequency of errors places this response at a Band 5.0.

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

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