Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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 some of the regions, people are fond of buying clothes on and off, for some occasions, and sometimes for no reason. Mases can reduce this habit

if they become aware of the shortcomings of this activity.

Firstly, shopping is a fun activity for many of the individuals among us, especially women, who are half of the population of this world, and they do not want to compromise on this, because its give them a sense of pleasure and accomplishment.

On the other hand, people do shop for different occasions like Eid, Christmas, and Thanksgiving parties, also Wedding contribute alot in shopping clothes.

Besides all the valid reasons, there is a bitter reality, which is that one-third of the world's population is living beneath the poverty line, so instead of wasting money on buying clothes on every single occasion, people should help of those who do not have proper clothes to wear.

Moreover, constant buying pushes the garment industry to keep on producing new varieties of garments every season, some time multiple times in a trimester, it would be at the cost of our environment and can contribute a lot to air pollution.

In conclusion, we should reuse clothes for the safety of mankind an ecosystem as well and the governments should launch multiple campaigns of awareness to encourage masses to reduce this habit

of impulsive buying. Social media and celebrities can also play a vital role in molding the opinions of their followers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, identifying reasons for excessive clothes buying, such as shopping for pleasure and social/cultural occasions, and suggesting solutions like awareness campaigns and celebrity influence. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and lacks specific, well-supported examples. Furthermore, the response falls short of the word count requirement, containing only 244 words against the 250-word minimum. This minor negative constraint penalty prevents the task response from reaching a higher band. Overall, the ideas are relevant, but the lack of full extension and the under-length issue place this at a Band 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a basic logical organisation with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is attempted, though some paragraphs bundle multiple distinct ideas together, such as combining environmental impacts with calls to action. Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes mechanically or awkwardly, such as 'Besides all the valid reasons' or 'Moreover, constant buying pushes...'. Referencing is generally clear, but the overall progression of ideas feels slightly disjointed due to run-on sentences and sudden shifts in focus. Paragraph transitions could be smoother and more logically structured. These features align well with the Band 6 descriptor.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases such as 'impulsive buying', 'poverty line', and 'molding the opinions'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors, awkward word choices, and spelling/typographical mistakes throughout the text, such as 'Mases' instead of 'masses', 'its give them' instead of 'it gives them', and 'wedding contribute alot' instead of 'weddings contribute a lot'. The phrasing 'in a trimester' is also unnatural in this context. While the meaning is generally clear, these inaccuracies limit the lexical score to a solid Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writing contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some ambition with subordination and relative clauses. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation slips throughout. Examples include agreement issues ('wedding contribute alot'), comma splices, and run-on sentences, particularly visible in the final paragraph ('In conclusion, we should reuse clothes... and the governments should launch...'). Some prepositional errors also occur, such as 'help of those' instead of 'help those'. Although these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the grammar score from reaching a Band 6.0.

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

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