Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-22
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)
I agree with this that clothes can tell about person's culture . Because traditional cothing often reflects cultural identity , while an individual's style can also provide some insights into their personality. If I talk about Pakistan , they usually wear shalwar kameez , its the Pakistani culture .But different province have their separate culture as well. In Sindh , they wear ajrak and a cap which is famous and well known. In Kpk , they like to wear homemade dresses like long frocks which are hand crafted. In Punjab, ladies like to wear shalwar kameez and mens tend to wear shalwar kameez . However, With the ongoing fashion sense , dresing styles are changing ,people have become more modern, they like to wear modern dresses and most of them wear western dresses ,particularly in cities, while others combines modern fashion with traditional garments. This tells that clothing can reflect not only cultural backgrounds but also changing social trends and personal preferences. iN my opinion , people should wear decent and simple dress because it tells about person's culture However, character should not be judged . People should have the freedom to choose clothing that makes comfortable with respecting their culture values . To sum up ,clothing is an important expression of cultural identity,but it is only aspect of person's character.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by discussing how clothing relates to culture and character, presenting a clear position. Specific regional examples from Pakistan, such as Sindh, KPK, and Punjab, are provided to support the main ideas. However, the response falls short of the required 250-word minimum, containing only 221 words. Because of this length deficiency, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and cannot reach higher bands. Furthermore, the discussion on character is rather briefly handled towards the end. For these reasons, the score is capped at Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text shows some logical organization, starting with an introduction, moving into regional examples, discussing modern trends, and finishing with a conclusion. However, the paragraphing is very erratic, with several fragmented or single-sentence paragraphs such as 'If I talk about Pakistan...' and 'In Sindh...'. Cohesive devices are used simply and sometimes awkwardly, as seen with phrases like 'If I talk about Pakistan' and 'This tells that...'. Overall progression is hindered by choppy sentence structures and poor paragraph formatting, which places it firmly at Band 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-related words such as 'traditional clothing', 'cultural identity', 'hand crafted', and 'fashion sense'. However, there are noticeable word-form and collocation errors, such as 'cothing' instead of 'clothing', 'dresing' instead of 'dressing', and 'makes comfortable' instead of 'makes them comfortable'. Less common vocabulary is attempted but often misused or mechanically reproduced. These errors do not completely impede communication, resulting in a Band 5.5 score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are numerous punctuation and capitalization errors, such as spacing before commas and periods (e.g., 'identity , while'), missing capitalization at the start of sentences ('iN my opinion'), and comma splices ('...shalwar kameez , its the Pakistani culture'). Subject-verb agreement and pronoun usage also show occasional inaccuracies ('mens tend to wear shalwar kameez'). Complex structures are often faulty. This fits the Band 5.0 descriptor well.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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