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Cambridge 20 Writing Task 2 Test 4 - Sample Answers (Band 9 to 4-5)

Real band 9, 8, 7 and 6.5 sample answers for this prompt, plus a genuine band 4-5 answer so you can see exactly what pulls a score down. Every sample comes with examiner-style notes on Task Response, Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range & Accuracy.

The Prompt

The Influence of Global Fashion Trends

Many aspects of the way people dress today are influenced by global fashion trends.

How has global fashion become such a strong influence on people's lives? Do you think this is a positive or negative development?

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

Write at least 250 words.

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Band 9

322 words

A sharply argued, specific answer that names its examples and never drifts into vague generalisation.

Fashion has always spread from person to person, but never before has a single trend been able to reach a teenager in Dhaka and a teenager in Toronto within the same week. I will explain how social media and global retail chains have driven this shift, before arguing that, despite some benefits, the overall effect is a negative one.

Two forces explain why global trends now dominate the way people dress. The first is social media, where an outfit worn by an influencer with millions of followers can be copied and reproduced by fast fashion brands within days, reaching consumers on several continents almost simultaneously. The second is the retail model of companies such as Zara and H&M, which have built supply chains specifically designed to translate a trend spotted on a catwalk or a phone screen into an affordable garment on a shop shelf within weeks rather than seasons. Together, these two forces have collapsed the distance, both geographic and financial, between a trend appearing and being worn.

I would argue that this development is largely negative. Encouraging consumers to buy new clothes every few weeks to keep pace with a trend cycle has made the fashion industry one of the most polluting on earth, responsible for enormous quantities of textile waste and water use. It has also flattened local dress traditions, as younger generations in many countries now favour a handful of global brands over garments tied to their own culture, from Bangladeshi jamdani weaving to Peruvian textiles. There is a genuine benefit in that fashionable clothing has become more accessible to people who could once not afford it, but this convenience comes at a cost that the price tag does not reflect.

In conclusion, social media and fast fashion retail have made global trends unavoidable, and while this has widened access to fashionable clothing, the environmental damage and erosion of local dress culture make this, overall, a troubling development.

Examiner Notes

Task Response: Fully addresses both parts of the question (how fashion became globally influential, and whether this is positive or negative) with a clear thesis stated in the introduction and maintained throughout. Named, specific examples (Zara, H&M, jamdani weaving, Peruvian textiles) give the argument real substance rather than vague generalisation.

Coherence & Cohesion: Each paragraph has a distinct role (causes, judgement, conclusion) and the essay builds logically from one to the next. Cohesive devices ("together", "I would argue", "in conclusion") link ideas naturally without ever feeling mechanical.

Lexical Resource: Wide range of precise, natural vocabulary ("collapsed the distance", "trend cycle", "flattened local dress traditions", "erosion of local dress culture") used with accurate collocation throughout.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Wide range of complex structures, including relative clauses ("which have built supply chains") and non-finite clauses, used with full control; punctuation is faultless.

Band 8

258 words

Well organised and fully on-topic, just slightly plainer in its language and evidence than a band 9 answer.

People today often wear clothes that are influenced by trends that started somewhere else in the world, and this has become much stronger in recent years. I will look at why this has happened, and then give my opinion on whether it is a good or bad thing.

One major reason is social media, where people can see what others are wearing anywhere in the world almost instantly and copy the style themselves. Another reason is that big fashion companies like Zara and H&M can produce cheap versions of popular styles very quickly, so trends spread to shops all over the world within just a few weeks instead of taking years like in the past. Because of this, someone in one country can end up wearing almost the same outfit as someone on the other side of the world.

In my opinion, this is mostly a negative development. Although it means fashionable clothes are cheaper and easier to find than before, it also encourages people to buy new clothes constantly, which creates a huge amount of waste and pollution from the fashion industry. It can also mean that traditional styles of clothing from different countries become less popular, as people prefer to wear the same global brands instead of their own cultural clothing.

In conclusion, social media and fast fashion companies are the main reasons why global trends now have such a strong influence, and although there are some benefits, I believe the negative effects on the environment and on local culture make this an overall negative development.

Examiner Notes

Task Response: Fully addresses both parts of the task with a clear, consistent position. Reasoning is relevant and reasonably developed, though the supporting evidence stays general ("a huge amount of waste") rather than using a specific named example the way the band 9 answer does.

Coherence & Cohesion: Clear progression with logically grouped paragraphs. Cohesive devices are accurate throughout, though "One major reason"/"Another reason" is a slightly more formulaic way of sequencing ideas than in a band 9 answer.

Lexical Resource: Good range of vocabulary with generally accurate word choice, but phrasing like "a huge amount of waste" is plainer than the more precise alternatives a higher band would reach for.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: A mix of simple and complex sentences, the large majority error-free, with only occasional minor slips that never affect meaning.

Band 7

255 words

A clear, sensible answer that stays on topic throughout, but development thins out in the second body paragraph.

Nowadays, many people dress in similar ways because of fashion trends that come from social media and international clothing brands. This essay will explain how this happened and give my opinion about whether it is a good or bad thing for society.

The main reason is social media, because people can see fashion from other countries very easily and quickly, and they want to copy it straight away. Also, clothing companies like Zara sell copies of popular styles in many countries at almost the same time, so people everywhere can buy similar clothes without waiting long. This makes it feel like the whole world is dressing the same way, even in countries that are very far apart.

I think this is a negative development in general. One reason is that people buy too many clothes because trends change fast, and this causes pollution and waste, which is very bad for the environment. Another problem is that people forget about their own traditional clothes because they want to look like people from other countries, so some old cultures of dressing are disappearing slowly in many places. For example, many cheap clothes are thrown away after being worn only a few times, and most of this fabric ends up in landfill instead of being reused or recycled.

In conclusion, fashion trends spread quickly today because of social media and global brands, and I believe this is mostly negative because of the pollution it causes and the loss of traditional clothing styles in many countries around the world.

Examiner Notes

Task Response: Addresses both parts of the task with a clear position, but development is uneven: the second body paragraph lists two problems fairly briefly rather than exploring either one in real depth the way the higher-band answers do.

Coherence & Cohesion: Organised logically with clear paragraphing, but cohesion relies on simple connectors ("Also", "One reason", "Another problem") and "I think" / "I believe" repeats across the essay.

Lexical Resource: Adequate range of vocabulary for the task with some reasonable attempts ("disappearing slowly"), but imprecise phrasing appears too ("very bad for the environment" instead of a more specific term like "environmentally damaging").

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: A mix of simple and complex sentences with generally good control; a few slips ("even in countries that are very far apart" tacked on loosely) but they rarely obscure meaning.

Band 6.5

260 words

The argument is there and both parts are covered, but grammar slips are frequent enough to notice on every line.

Today, many young people wear clothes that come from fashion trend in other country, and this is happen because of internet and social media. In this essay I will explain how this happen and give my opinion is it positive or negative thing for people.

First reason is social media, people can see famous person wearing new clothes and then everyone want to copy same style. Also big company like Zara and H&M they make same clothes very fast and cheap so people in many country can buy it in short time. This make fashion become same everywhere in the world now, even in place that are very different culture. Sometime people in two different country buy exact same shoes or same jacket, even if their own culture have completely different style of clothes traditionally.

In my opinion this is mostly a bad thing. People buy too much clothes because trend change all the time, and this create many rubbish and it is bad for environment. Also, people start to forget their own traditional clothes from their country because they want to wear same brand like other people, so old culture is slowly disappear in many country. Some family even borrow money for buy new fashion clothes because they don't want to feel different from their friend or from people they see on social media.

In conclusion, fashion become global because of social media and big company, and I think this is negative thing because of pollution and because traditional culture is being lost in many place around the world.

Examiner Notes

Task Response: Covers both parts of the task with a clear enough position, and the reasoning is relevant, but ideas are stated rather than fully explained and the second half of the essay largely repeats the first half's point about copying instead of developing a new one.

Coherence & Cohesion: Paragraphing follows the task logically, but cohesion depends on a narrow set of connectors ("Also", "First reason", "In conclusion") and there is noticeable repetition of "same" and "country" across paragraphs.

Lexical Resource: Adequate but limited vocabulary; word choice is sometimes imprecise ("many rubbish", "very different culture") and word forms are occasionally wrong.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: A mix of simple and complex sentences is attempted, but grammatical errors are frequent: subject-verb agreement ("this is happen", "they make", "culture is slowly disappear") and missing articles ("famous person", "same brand") appear throughout. Errors rarely prevent understanding but are noticeable on every read.

Band 4-5 - What to Avoid

126 words

Underlength and underdeveloped, with basic grammar errors on nearly every line: exactly what costs candidates the band they need.

Fashion is very important thing in today world. Many people wear same clothes because of internet. This is happen very fast now in every country.

Social media have big effect on this. People see picture and want buy same thing. Company like Zara is very popular, they sell cheap clothes very fast to everyone.

I think this is bad thing for environment. People buy too much and throw away old clothes. This make pollution very much and it is not good.

Also traditional clothes from my country and other country is disappearing slowly, young people not wear it anymore, they prefer global brand instead.

In conclusion fashion trend is very strong today because of social media and big company, this is my opinion about this topic.

Examiner Notes

Task Response: Both parts of the question are touched on, but neither is developed. The judgement ("I think this is bad thing for environment") is stated without being argued, and there is no real explanation of how global fashion became so influential beyond "social media have big effect on this". At 146 words, the essay is far under the 250-word minimum, which caps the score regardless of anything else on the page.

Coherence & Cohesion: Paragraphs read as a list of separate, disconnected points rather than a developing argument, and linking is limited to "also" and "in conclusion" used loosely rather than to connect specific ideas.

Lexical Resource: Vocabulary is basic and repetitive ("very important thing", "very fast", "very much"). Word choice errors ("is disappearing slowly" sitting awkwardly next to "they prefer global brand instead") show no real range.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Grammatical errors are frequent and serious: subject-verb agreement fails throughout ("Social media have", "This is happen", "clothes... is disappearing") and articles are dropped constantly ("buy same thing", "prefer global brand"). This is the kind of error pattern that genuinely distracts an examiner, not a minor slip.

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These sample answers are written independently for Prep IELTS Now to illustrate real band-score differences. They are a study aid, not official Cambridge or IELTS material.