Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-24
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)
Some individuals say that it is possible to tell about someone's culture and character from their selection of clothes. It may requires basic information to judge someone's culture from their clothes. On this occasion, I agree with the given idea.
The design and structure of clothes varies around the world due to different requirements based on a geographic location. For example, a person belongs to a country near equator most likely to wear breathable clothes like a comfy sleeveless tshirt and a short with a cap to protect from warm and dry weather condition. Also a person's skintone can be helped to decided culture along with clothes. For example, a white lady with full-length coat, a furry hat, a scarf and high-neck shoes. Someone can decide that the lady belongs to western country with harsh winters.
There are traditional clothes that outline many things about a person's culture. In south-east asia, people wear traditional clothes to show off their culture and importance of a festival. During Navratri, a festivale in india, last for 9 days where women and men wear chanyacholis and kurtas while celebrating it. It shows that in past, people used to dress like these and worship goddess Amba. Although current fashion is completely different from the past, people still manage to wear clothes that reflect their culture.
In conclusion, there are few observations that need to be done to judge someone from their clothes about their culture and character. Fashion has changed a lot throughout the world but there are certain occasions where they wear clothes to reflect their culture.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
Your position is stated clearly in the introduction (“I agree”), and the response gives relevant examples involving climate and traditional dress, including Navratri clothing. However, the task asks whether clothes reveal both culture and character, while most of your discussion concerns culture. Character is mentioned in the opening and conclusion but is not explained or supported with an example. The climate paragraph also shows how clothing may reflect geography or weather, rather than directly demonstrating cultural identity or character. To strengthen the response, develop both parts of the question and explain the limits of judging someone from appearance—for example, why clothing may not reliably reveal personality.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, two body paragraphs with distinct examples, and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “For example,” “Also,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the main points, and the Navratri example is placed in a relevant paragraph about traditional clothing. Some connections are less clear, however. The shift from climate to skin tone in the second paragraph is abrupt, and the claim about skin tone does not clearly connect to the example that follows. The conclusion largely repeats the earlier position rather than drawing the ideas together. Use more precise links between each claim and its example, and make the progression from clothing, to culture, to character explicit.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “breathable clothes,” “traditional clothes,” “festival,” and “reflect their culture,” which makes the subject clear. There are also attempts at more specific description, such as “full-length coat” and “harsh winters.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “decide culture,” “a person belongs to a country,” and “skintone can be helped to decided culture.” Spelling and word-form slips such as “festivale” and “chanyacholis” also reduce precision. Aim for natural phrases such as “infer someone’s cultural background” and check spelling of culturally specific terms. More precise vocabulary would help distinguish cultural identity from personality.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “a festival in India, last for 9 days” and a contrast introduced by “Although.” The main ideas are generally understandable, but some errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction remain. For example, “It may requires” should be “It may require,” and “The design and structure of clothes varies” needs plural agreement (“vary”). The Navratri sentence is also incomplete as written: “During Navratri, a festivale in india, last for 9 days…” lacks a clear main clause. Review sentence boundaries and ensure each sentence has a complete subject and verb; this will make your complex structures more controlled.
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