Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-21

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)

Nowadays, in some parts of the world, individuals buy more clothes than they need. This is due to change in fashion trends and cheap clothing. There are several ways to encourage people to reduce the number of clothes they buy.

To begin with, although clothes are cheap and easily available, many people tend to purchase more than they actually need. Moreover, with the influence of social media, people want to follow the celebrities and influencers and they end up buying the things they do not require. Furthermore, frequent sales and discounted prices also leads to unnecessary shopping. For instance, online stores constantly advertise new collections and discounts, which can encourage people to purchase when they already have enough. Thus, these are some of the reasons people get encouraged to buy more.

There are some measures to reduce it such as educating people about the unnecessary wastage of textile and environmental damage. Moreover, people should be encouraged to opt for recycling and donating their old clothes. Furthermore, people should set their monthly budget for clothing and avoid impulse purchases. For instance, on social media platforms people should influence buyers to normalise wearing the same clothes for second time rather than buying something new every time. Thus, these are some of the ways to achieve the reduction in number of clothes people purchase.

To put this in a nutshell, the excessive purchasing of clothes is mainly caused by cheap trends and discounted advertisements. However, responsible shopping habits and awareness of recycling and donating can help people to reduce unnecessary clothing purchases.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by identifying reasons for excessive clothing purchases, such as changing fashion trends, cheap clothing, and social media influence, and suggests practical solutions like education, recycling, budgeting, and responsible influencer campaigns. The position is clear throughout, and ideas are extended and supported with relevant examples, such as online store advertisements and monthly budgets. Although some points could be slightly more deeply developed to reach the highest band descriptors, the prompt is fully and satisfactorily answered. Overall, the performance aligns well with Band 7.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay displays a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct focus: an introduction, body paragraph one focusing on causes, body paragraph two focusing on solutions, and a concise conclusion. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as "To begin with," "Moreover," and "Furthermore," although there is a slight tendency to rely on repetitive transitional patterns. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, ensuring the overall progression of ideas is easy to follow, making this a solid Band 7 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task. Less common lexical items are attempted, such as "impulse purchases," "textile and environmental damage," and "excessive purchasing." However, there are occasional inaccuracies in word choice or phrasing, such as "leads to unnecessary shopping" (where 'lead' should be plural to match 'sales and discounted prices') and "reduce in number." Nevertheless, the vocabulary is sufficient for flexibility and precision, and communication is never impeded. This fits comfortably within the Band 6 criteria.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response incorporates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating a decent grasp of grammar. Examples of complex structures include conditional and relative clauses like "which can encourage people to purchase when they already have enough." There are some grammatical errors present, such as subject-verb agreement issues ("frequent sales and discounted prices also leads") and missing articles or prepositions ("for second time"). However, these errors do not impede communication, and the overall control of grammar and punctuation is adequate for a Band 6 score.

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