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)

In todays era businesses tend to advertise their product by highlighting the improvements or how their product is the newest of its kind. This may be due to consumer behavior as people try to get their hands on the next best thing or the business is trying to get ahead of market competition. However, I believe that people should not easily be influenced by something written in bold on an advertisement as it could be false marketing which is a negative development.

Thriving in todays business competition pushes many businesses to advertise products as being the next best thing a consumer can have. This results to an increase in sales and dominance among other market competitors. Furthermore, this builds relation with your consumer as the business becomes a set label everyone is seeking for. For example, Apple announces a new iPhone every year while focusing heavily on the newer camera features which tempts the users to buy the new product. Additionally, it asserts market dominance and many non Apple users get influenced into buying an Apple product.

In the fear of not following the trend, many people tend to forget to actually research and buy the product regardless. However, what they do not realize is that they have been manipulated by false advertisement. For example, many shampoo brands advertise the new shiny look of your hair after using their product but hide the negatives like the use of sulfates and chemicals which are extremely harmful for your hair.

In conclusion, while advertising the new in your products does help you to distinguish your selves from other business, but it might hide the real disadvantages of your product which is considered as negative development.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the reasons for emphasizing 'newness' and the evaluation of whether this is positive or negative. The position is clear throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While the Apple example is relevant, the discussion on consumer behavior and the shampoo example could be more deeply explored to reach a higher band. The conclusion is a bit repetitive and could have better synthesized the main points. Overall, the response is relevant and covers all requirements, but it lacks the depth of analysis required for a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. Cohesive devices such as 'Furthermore', 'For example', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with referencing, such as the use of 'your' when referring to businesses or consumers in a general sense, which creates a slight shift in tone. Paragraphing is appropriate, and the progression of ideas is generally easy to follow, though the connection between the paragraphs could be smoother.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'market dominance' and 'distinguish', which are used correctly. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of imprecise word choice, such as 'builds relation with your consumer' (should be 'builds relationships') and 'set label' (which is vague). Spelling is generally accurate, but the overall lexical range does not demonstrate the flexibility or precision required for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as missing apostrophes ('todays' instead of 'today's'), subject-verb agreement issues ('This results to' instead of 'This results in'), and awkward phrasing ('distinguish your selves'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the errors are frequent enough to be noticeable. While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. More attention to proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy would be beneficial.

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