Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-26

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people say that it is possible to tell a lot about a person’s culture and character from their choice of clothes.

Do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

 

Student answer (Band 6.5)

There is an ongoing debate regarding whether it is possible to tell a lot about a person's culture and character from their choice of clothes. I totally agree with this development because clothing choices do reflect the personality and background of an individual.

Firstly, cultures from all over the world have their unique and distinct dressing sense. Many civilizations are identified on basis of their clothing, for instance, Pakistanis who wear shalwar kameez, Indians wear Saree and Chinese dress includes long shirts and robes. This traditional dressing is followed by majority of people belonging to the same region and represents their cultural heritage. Secondly, many people dress according to their character, for instance, some prefer sober clothing which reflects maturity and decency while others dress up colorfully which indicates liveliness. Different styles of apparel also tells a lot about the mood and feelings of an individual, for example, people who are sad do not bother to wear a good attire while nicely chosen attire can indicate a special occasion or happiness.

Moreover, choice of clothing also refers to financial classes of people which likes to wear expensive and branded clothes.The sense of clothing is also used to judge a candidate who is giving an interview as it tells alot about their professionalism and character. Wearing indecent attire can negatively influence the character of an individual.

In conclusion, clothing preferences highly reflect the culture and nature of a person. Although sometimes people are hard to judge based on their apparel, usually it says a lot about their background, financial status and personality.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, providing a clear position that is maintained throughout. The ideas regarding cultural identity and personal character are relevant and supported by examples, such as traditional clothing in Pakistan, India, and China. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat brief. While the essay covers the prompt well, it could be improved by exploring the counter-argument—that clothing can be deceptive—in more depth to achieve a more balanced and nuanced discussion. Overall, the response is well-focused and meets the requirements of the task effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader through the argument. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. For instance, the transition between the discussion of financial status and the interview context in the third paragraph is a bit abrupt. Despite these minor issues, the progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is generally appropriate and sufficient for the task. The student uses topic-specific terms like 'cultural heritage', 'apparel', and 'professionalism'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'dressing sense' (which is more common in informal contexts) and 'financial classes of people which likes to wear' (where 'who prefer' would be more accurate). While the range is adequate, there is limited use of less common or idiomatic vocabulary that would elevate the response to a higher band. The spelling is accurate throughout.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'on basis of' (missing an article), 'majority of people' (missing 'the'), and 'tells a lot' (subject-verb agreement error with 'styles'). Punctuation is generally correct, though there is a missing space after the period in the third paragraph. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. A greater variety of complex structures with fewer minor errors would be required for a higher band.

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

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