Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-05
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)
Many businesses nowadays promoting products demonstrating that their products are unique in some way. The prominent reason behind this is one of the main competitive strategies of an organization. Many people argue that it can create the new customer to the business while others believe that it may have negative impact on customer retention. However, in my own view it is beneficial for the consumer, as they can have taste the different products.
This is one of the main competitive strategies of the businesses and this is only made to compete the competitors in the field of business. So that they can survive and can make the estimated profit. If the business or a company with this kind of policy can have the great benefit on them like creation of new customer. Most of the decision maker set the strategies like this simultaneously the customers are looking for new taste in products. In addition, even if the company launched the same product with new looks, curiosity of the people may lead to buy the product. Consequently, huge number of can be create.
However, sometimes it may create harsh condition in customer retention due to the lack of quality in the product. Company may trap in the greed of more profit and then they may produce large amount of products with low quality raw material. As a result, the company may be identified as the fraud one in the customer, then it lead to the loss of existing customer too. For example most of great online businesses are not able to retain their customer due to the lack of quality in their product.
But in my own opinion it is the the great opportunity to the customer, as they can try the new products from the different business and this is also beneficial for those customer who can recognize the real quality of the product.
In conclusion, although there are the advantages of competitive strategies to the businesses may sometimes lead to the negative impact on the business. Meanwhile the customer can get the benefit of wide variety of product.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
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, though the development of ideas is somewhat repetitive. For instance, the argument regarding 'new taste' is mentioned in the introduction and repeated in the second and fourth paragraphs. While the ideas are relevant, they lack depth and specific, concrete examples. The mention of 'online businesses' is too vague to serve as a strong supporting example. To improve, you should focus on expanding your arguments with more specific details or real-world scenarios rather than restating the same points.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. Phrases like 'simultaneously the customers are looking' or 'in my own opinion it is the the great opportunity' disrupt the flow. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the sentence 'huge number of can be create', where the subject is missing. While there is an overall progression, the transition between ideas could be smoother. Improving the variety and accuracy of linking words will help the essay read more naturally and logically.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward word choices and collocations, such as 'create the new customer', 'harsh condition in customer retention', and 'identified as the fraud one'. These errors occasionally impede the clarity of your message. To reach a higher band, you should work on using more sophisticated vocabulary and ensuring that words are used in their correct context. Expanding your range of collocations and idiomatic expressions will significantly enhance your lexical score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'Many businesses nowadays promoting'), missing articles (e.g., 'in the customer'), and incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'can have taste'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence structure is often clunky, which affects the overall readability. While the meaning is usually clear, the frequency of errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for subject-verb agreement would be highly beneficial.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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