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)

It has been widely seen that the majority of individuals purchase various kinds of garments. This purchase is quite frequent. This essay will examine the reasons behind it and propose some solutions to reduce it.

The fundamental reason for buying many clothing items is social media influence. Nowadays, people want their image to be more appealing. So, in order to get more followers, they try different clothing varieties such as traditional, funky, classic and modern and photograph themselves. These things give motivation to start videography as well. In addition, viewers do not like the repeated style. Therefore, to entertain them and make money out of it, individuals buy too many clothes. Another reason is that some people are looking for quantity over quality. They find inexpensive garments and change them very often. Furthermore, they do believe in affordable clothing rather than spending on high-quality clothing.

There are two suggestions to reduce the number of clothes that people buy. To commence with, there should be workshops for crafting clothing using premium-quality materials, showing individuals the significance of superior-quality garments. Secondly, there should be seminars regarding carbon emissions and land pollution to make the public aware of non-recyclable items. Many clothing items, for instance, polyester materials, are time-consuming and sometimes non-recyclable. This awareness would persuade people to reduce the number of clothes they purchase.

In conclusion, although numerous people are making purchases of new clothes very frequently because of the influence of social media and the affordability of garments, there are possible ways to reduce this by organizing awareness programs and workshops.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by identifying reasons for excessive clothing purchases—such as social media influence and the preference for quantity over quality—and proposing relevant solutions like workshops and seminars. The ideas are clearly stated and supported with reasons, such as how viewers dislike repeated styles and how affordable garments encourage frequent buying. However, some of the supporting points, like the transition into video-making, wander slightly from the core issue of consumer habits. Furthermore, the ideas could be extended further with deeper examples to reach the higher bands. Nevertheless, the prompt is fully satisfied in terms of answering both questions, aligning well with the Band 6.5 to 7.0 profile. A band score of 6.5 is awarded.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear organizational structure, moving logically from an introduction to causes, then solutions, and finally a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct themes. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as 'To commence with', 'Secondly', and 'Furthermore'. However, some of the transitional phrases feel a bit mechanical or formulaic, and referencing could be smoother in places. For instance, sentences like 'These things give motivation...' rely on slightly vague pronoun referencing. Despite these minor lapses in cohesion, the progression of ideas is easy to follow throughout, justifying a solid Band 6.5 to 7.0 score. A band score of 6.5 is awarded.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to the topic such as 'garments', 'social media influence', 'carbon emissions', and 'non-recyclable items'. There are successful attempts to use less common vocabulary, though some word choices and collocations feel slightly unnatural or repetitive, such as 'buying many clothing items' instead of 'overconsumption of apparel' or 'purchasing various kinds of garments'. Spelling and word formation are generally accurate. While the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main points clearly, it lacks the precision, flexibility, and sophistication required for a Band 7. A band score of 6.0 is awarded.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like conditional and causal clauses (e.g., 'So, in order to get more followers, they try...', 'This awareness would persuade people to...'). There is an adequate level of grammatical control, and the majority of simple sentences are error-free. Some minor awkwardness appears in phrasing, such as 'Furthermore, they do believe in affordable clothing', but these errors rarely impede communication and do not cause misunderstanding for the reader. The complexity of the grammar is somewhat restricted, which prevents the essay from reaching a Band 7, but it clearly surpasses the Band 5 descriptor. A band score of 6.0 is awarded.

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

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