Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-25

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 6.0)

Buying clothes is much more common in particular regions of the world, especially in large quantities, due to various reasons associated with it. Since it is such a common practice, there are preventive measures which can be implemented to reduce the quantity of purchasing new clothes.

First and foremost, the primary reason to buy more clothes is because of poor quality of fabric people choose when they buy and due to continuous wearing over the time, the clothes wear out and eventually leading them to buy more clothes. For example, cheaper clothes often have high tendency to get damaged in no to little use which creates a desire to shop again.

In addition to this, growing economy in some parts of the world have resulted in saving more money in the pockets of people and people use it to shop more. Because of this, not only people feel good when they shop but also it boosts their confidence while wearing new clothes. To illustrate, visiting places while wearing new clothes attract more eyes which makes people few uplifted.

On the other side, encouraging people to buy premium quality clothes because they will last longer than cheap quality clothes and resulting in buying less clothes over the time. Although, at the same time good quality clothes are expensive which will spend individual's money faster and rather than buying more clothes, people have to stick to buying less.

To conclude, having excessive money and desire to be style themselves are one of the common reasons why people buy more clothes. Whereas, motivating people to invest in premium quality clothes will result in buying in less quantities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, exploring reasons why people buy too many clothes and suggesting how they might be reduced. A position is presented, although the arguments are somewhat under-developed. For example, the first reason given focuses on poor fabric quality leading to clothes wearing out, but this point could have been extended with more economic or consumer-behavior context. Similarly, the solution regarding premium quality clothes is introduced in the fourth paragraph rather abruptly and reads more like a fragmented thought or sentence fragment ('resulting in buying less clothes over the time'). While the main prompt areas are touched upon, the lack of full extension and the presence of minor structural lapses place this at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with standard signaling phrases like 'First and foremost' and 'In addition to this' used to structure the text. Paragraphing is attempted appropriately, separating the introduction, reasons, solution, and conclusion. However, cohesion within paragraphs is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition in the fourth paragraph ('On the other side, encouraging people...') lacks a main verb and does not grammatically connect well with the preceding arguments. Referencing and conjunctions are occasionally clumsy, such as 'due to various reasons associated with it' in the introduction. These flaws in logical progression and cohesive ties align the response with Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'preventive measures', 'growing economy', and 'premium quality clothes'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors that hinder precision. For example, the phrase 'makes people few uplifted' contains a clear grammatical and lexical error ('few' instead of 'feel'). Other expressions like 'style themselves' or 'spend individual's money faster' show a lack of natural collocation control. Despite these limitations, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the basic message clearly, fitting the Band 6.0 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical control is inconsistent. While there are some correct complex structures, there are frequent errors, particularly with verb forms, prepositions, and sentence fragments. For instance, the sentence starting with 'Although, at the same time good quality clothes are expensive...' is a dependent clause left without a completed main clause. Other errors include 'high tendency' missing an article ('a high tendency') and 'buying in less quantities'. These errors occasionally cause slight confusion for the reader, but communication is not severely impeded, justifying a Band 5.5 score.

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

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