Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-13

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)

In my part of the world, people purchase more clothes than they actually need. This trend is mainly driven by fashion trends and aggressive advertising. However, public awareness and government initiative can help to reduced unnecessary clothing purchase.

One major reason for excessive clothing consumption is the influence of social media and celebrities. Many people, particularly young adults feel pressured to follow the latest fashion trends to look attractive and gain social approval. As a result, they frequently buy new clothes when their wardrobes are already full. Another important factor is the rise of fast fashion brands, which sells trendy cloths at a relatively low prices. Frequent discount and online shopping platforms encourages individuals to do impulsive purchase without considering and thinking even they need these items. For instance, some people do the purchase as the clothes were relatively low price.

Several measure can be taken to address this issue. Firstly, government and educational institutions should raise awareness about the environmental consequence of excess clothing consumptions. Producing clothes requires a large amount of water and energy, while discard garments will create a landfill waste. Secondly, clothing industry should promote sustainable fashion by producing durable garments and encourage people to donate or recycle unwanted clothes. In addition social media influencer could play a positive role by promoting outfit repetition and how a small collection of clothes can be styled in a different ways.

Finally, individuals should develop better shopping habits, such as making a shopping list, avoid unnecessary purchase and choosing quality or quantity. These simple changes can help can reduce waste while saving money.

In Conclusion, excessive clothing purchase are largely caused by social pressure advertising and affordability of fast fashion. Through education responsible marketing and changes in customer behavior, people can be persuaded to buy fewer clothes and adopt sustainable lifestyle.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response addresses both parts of the question and maintains a clear position: fashion pressure, advertising and affordable fast fashion explain overbuying, while education, industry action and better personal habits are proposed as solutions. The reasons are supported with relevant detail, such as young adults seeking social approval and discounts encouraging impulse purchases. The solutions are also pertinent, particularly promoting garment donation, recycling and outfit repetition. This fits a response that covers the task and extends its ideas. To strengthen development further, explain more specifically how awareness or government action would persuade consumers—for example, through public campaigns or incentives—and develop the brief point about responsible marketing. The example about buying clothes because they are inexpensive is relevant but could be made more concrete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear overall progression: an introduction, a paragraph explaining causes, a paragraph outlining measures, and a conclusion that restates the main points. Sequencing words such as “One major reason,” “Another important factor,” “Firstly,” and “Secondly” help readers follow the argument, and the ideas within each paragraph are generally grouped logically. This is a coherent structure with progression throughout. Some linking is a little mechanical, however, and the solutions paragraph moves through government, industry, influencers and individuals without fully showing how these measures connect. The transition “Finally” helps signal the last proposal, but a clearer distinction between collective and individual actions would improve the flow. Check punctuation around introductory phrases such as “In addition” and “In Conclusion.”

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The response uses an adequate range for the topic, including relevant expressions such as “social approval,” “fast fashion,” “environmental consequence,” “durable garments,” and “sustainable lifestyle.” These choices communicate the main ideas and show some awareness of topic-specific vocabulary. There is also an attempt to vary wording, for example between “clothes,” “garments” and “fashion.” However, several inaccurate word forms and collocations reduce precision: “cloths” for “clothes,” “do impulsive purchase,” and “choosing quality or quantity” do not express the intended meaning naturally. Spelling and number-form errors such as “Frequent discount” also occur. More consistent control of collocations and precise phrasing would build on the range already present.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

There is a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “brands, which sells…” and a time clause in “when their wardrobes are already full.” Most ideas remain understandable, and the response attempts to express cause and effect and to list recommendations. Some grammatical errors persist, particularly with subject–verb agreement, verb forms, articles and plurals. For example, “brands, which sells” should use a plural verb, while “can help to reduced” needs the base form after “to.” In “These simple changes can help can reduce,” the repeated modal disrupts the sentence. The final sentence also needs clearer article and plural control. Revising these patterns would improve accuracy while retaining the range of structures attempted.

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