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?
Sample Response
In recent decades, global fashion trends have become a dominant force shaping how individuals dress across diverse cultures. The widespread influence of international styles can be attributed to the rise of social media. This development is negative overall as it raises concerns about cultural erosion and environmental degradation.
One primary reason global fashion has such a strong hold on people’s clothing choices is the unprecedented accessibility of digital platforms. Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube have turned ordinary individuals into influencers whose outfits often mirror the latest looks from Paris, Milan, or Seoul. For instance, after the K-pop group BTS wore pastel-colored suits during a televised performance, similar styles surged in popularity globally, including in non-Asian markets like North and South America. This digital exposure transcends geographic barriers and enables trends to spread virally within days.
While some see this as a celebration of interconnectedness, the dominance of Western and corporate fashion often marginalizes local textile industries and traditional forms of dress. In India, for example, the wearing of sarees among urban young people has declined as jeans and branded t-shirts become the norm. This shift not only threatens cultural heritages but also undermines livelihoods tied to traditional craftsmanship. Relatedly, the environmental cost of fast fashion, typically driven by global trends. is severe, with the industry producing millions of tons of textile waste annually, much of it in developing nations where discarded clothing is dumped in landfills.
In conclusion, global fashion exerts an increasingly powerful influence on how people dress due to digital media. This greatly contributes to cultural homogenization and environmental harm. On balance, this development is negative, especially when it displaces traditional cultures and promotes unsustainable consumption habits.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Clarify the cause Original: as Suggested revision: because Why it matters: Because states the causal relationship more directly.
- 2. Use formal phrasing Original: hold Suggested revision: influence Why it matters: Strong influence is more precise and suitably formal in this context.
- 3. Specify the role Original: ordinary individuals into influencers Suggested revision: ordinary individuals into fashion influencers Why it matters: Adding fashion makes the type of influence explicit.
- 4. Refine the wording Original: mirror the latest looks Suggested revision: reflect the latest styles Why it matters: The replacement is more precise and formal for describing clothing trends.
- 5. Avoid redundancy Original: surged in popularity globally Suggested revision: became popular worldwide Why it matters: The revision conveys the same rapid international uptake more concisely.
- 6. Name markets precisely Original: non-Asian markets like North and South America Suggested revision: non-Asian markets, including those in North and South America Why it matters: The revision distinguishes the markets from the continents in which they are located.
- 7. Use neutral wording Original: virally Suggested revision: rapidly Why it matters: Rapidly states the speed directly without relying on a digital-media metaphor.
- 8. Use uncountable noun Original: heritages Suggested revision: heritage Why it matters: Heritage is normally uncountable when referring generally to cultural traditions.
- 9. Standardize capitalization Original: t Suggested revision: T Why it matters: T-shirt is conventionally capitalized because the letter names the garment's shape.
- 10. Repair the sentence break Original: global trends. is Suggested revision: global trends, is Why it matters: The full stop incorrectly separates the subject from its verb.
- 11. Clarify the reference Original: This greatly contributes Suggested revision: This influence contributes greatly Why it matters: Naming the influence gives the demonstrative a clear referent.
- 12. Sequence the two harms Suggested revision: Present the cultural and environmental harms as two clearly signposted stages within the paragraph. Why it matters: The rapid shift from cultural erosion to environmental waste weakens the paragraph's internal progression.
Suggested Rewrites
- as because
- hold influence
- ordinary individuals into influencers ordinary individuals into fashion influencers
- mirror the latest looks reflect the latest styles
- surged in popularity globally became popular worldwide
- non-Asian markets like North and South America non-Asian markets, including those in North and South America
Why this response received Band 8.0
The essay answers both questions directly, sustaining a clear negative position and developing its explanation through specific, well-chosen examples of digital influence, cultural erosion, and environmental harm. The main limitation is a small lapse in sentence control within the environmental argument, together with minor lexical imprecision. Prioritize proofreading sentence boundaries so the otherwise polished reasoning remains fully fluent.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both parts of the task are fully addressed through a clear position, relevant explanation, and specific supporting examples.
Refine the environmental point by making its causal link to global trends as explicit as the social-media explanation.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response is logically organized, and ideas move smoothly from the cause of global influence to its negative consequences.
Keep each transition grammatically integrated so the shift between cultural and environmental effects is completely seamless.
Lexical Resource
A broad and precise vocabulary conveys complex ideas effectively, with only rare awkward or imprecise choices.
Use singular uncountable forms such as cultural heritage where appropriate and avoid treating entire continents as markets.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately, apart from a conspicuous sentence-boundary error and rare minor slips.
Proofread punctuation carefully to prevent a dependent phrase from being separated from its main clause.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
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?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.