Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-04

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In their advertising, businesses nowadays usually emphasise that their products are new in some way. Why is this? Do you think it is a positive or negative development?

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

To answer this I will need to give a detailed example. Lets take Apple for example, every year they release a new mobile phone, but apparently there isn't a single change in the device. So what are they doing? are they lying? the answer to this is no, they aren't lying. In advertisement companies tend to explain everything in a very product specific way, Apple explain all the new features and minor but meaningful updates in a very tech oriented manner, which results confusion for a person who is a layman when it comes to tech. That person thinks that there isn't any new update because physically that device is same but for a tech oriented person the changes are apparent, because either they are inside the device or in software. So in my opinion this is not a very positive development, and at the same time not a negative development as well. You would ask that it's a very vague statement, yes it is vague because what they are doing isn't illegal or wrong but for a person who isn't so well versed in the domain of tech will be confused and feel that they are betrayed. In my experience companies tend to boost about those features, which they know themselves, will not be understood by everyone, and will make their selling easy to those customers as they would think that they are getting new features. I believe that the loop holes in the advertisements should be taken care of by a governing party and they should make sure that the advertisements are as close to truth as possible.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, explaining why businesses emphasize 'newness' and providing a personal opinion on whether this is positive or negative. However, the development is somewhat limited. The argument relies heavily on a single example (Apple), which restricts the scope of the discussion. The position is stated as being both positive and negative, which is acceptable, but the explanation remains somewhat superficial. To reach a higher band, you should broaden your analysis to include other industries or broader societal impacts, ensuring that the reasons for your stance are more fully extended and supported with clearer logic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay lacks a clear structure; it is written as a single block of text rather than using distinct paragraphs for the introduction, body, and conclusion. This makes the progression of ideas feel cluttered. While there are some cohesive devices used, such as 'So in my opinion' and 'at the same time', the overall flow is hindered by the lack of paragraphing. To improve, you must organize your response into clear paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of the prompt, and use a wider variety of linking words to connect your sentences and ideas more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You use some relevant terms like 'layman', 'tech oriented', and 'domain', but there is also a reliance on informal or repetitive phrasing, such as 'boost about' (instead of 'boast about') and 'selling' (instead of 'sales'). The expression 'loop holes' is used correctly, but the overall lexical range is somewhat restricted. To improve, focus on using more sophisticated collocations and academic vocabulary to express your ideas with greater nuance and precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There is a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but the accuracy is inconsistent. You have several punctuation errors, such as missing commas and incorrect capitalization (e.g., 'Apple explain' should be 'Apple explains'). There are also grammatical slips, such as 'results confusion' (should be 'results in confusion') and 'device is same' (should be 'device is the same'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to lower the score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and article usage will help improve your accuracy significantly.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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