Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-31
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 5.5)
Indeed, most of the people are judged by their clothes and their way of talking. I agree with this given statement to some extent.
To begin with, in today's era, most people like to wear clothes that are popular in their culture. For example, when a person visits a historical site, where every person has a different dress code that makes it easy for anyone to judge them by their sense of dress. To add to it, meeting people get chance to know about their identity; if a person is basically from Punjab, then he or she will definitely speak the Punjabi language, so it is an easy way to know about them.
Turning to the other side, if some folks have been living with another community for years, then it would be difficult to judge them by their character and language, because they wear the same clothes and speak the same language where they live.For example, these days most of the people are forgetting the culture differernces due to education.
conclusion, having discussed both sides of the argument, I conclude that by culture and character, you can always know the person background.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, which significantly impacts the development of ideas. While you address the prompt by presenting a position, the arguments are underdeveloped and lack sufficient detail or depth. For instance, the example regarding historical sites is vague and does not clearly explain how clothing reveals character. Because the response is 57 words short, the ideas remain superficial, and the conclusion is abrupt and lacks a clear summary of the main points. To improve, you must expand on your examples and ensure each body paragraph provides a thorough explanation of your reasoning.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into paragraphs, which is a positive start. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat disjointed. While you use basic cohesive devices like 'To begin with' and 'Turning to the other side', the transition between the idea of clothing and the shift to language in the second paragraph is confusing. The referencing is occasionally unclear, and the conclusion is missing a proper introductory phrase, appearing as a fragmented sentence. To achieve a higher score, ensure that each paragraph focuses on a single clear idea and use a wider variety of linking words to connect your sentences more fluidly.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is generally functional but limited. You rely on simple, repetitive phrasing such as 'most of the people' and 'know about them'. There are also minor spelling errors, such as 'differernces'. To improve, you should aim to incorporate more precise vocabulary related to the topic of culture and identity. For example, instead of saying 'know about their identity', you could use 'discern their cultural background' or 'infer their heritage'. Expanding your range of collocations and using more sophisticated synonyms will help you move into higher band scores.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. For example, 'meeting people get chance to know' is grammatically incorrect and lacks necessary articles. There are also issues with punctuation and sentence fragments, such as the opening of the conclusion. While the meaning is generally understandable, the lack of control over complex structures and consistent errors in subject-verb agreement and article usage prevent a higher score. Focus on proofreading for basic errors and practicing more complex sentence constructions.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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