Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-10

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)

The businesses these days are just running in race to get more and more customers no matter what strategies they use ,they just run ,run irrespective of the results.

The advertising departments have just one task, to show their product as number one product in the industry and that ,there is no other match. They showcase their products in various unique ways that the users are tricked that this might be the best product for them.

Some of the companies produce copies of the original product with minor changes and sell them as a new product. This is obviously stealing of the original idea and may cause confusion in the market.

The companies claim that their product is different or new from the existing products in the market, although their is hardly any change in it ,yet the ask for more and higher prices for the product because of the upgrades they claim to have.

That is what famous and top brands are doing with their customers .Their targets are the elite classes .They sell their products in huge prices and claim that their product is way more better than the local products, but that is not the case. In most cases according to my experience the quality is just normal just as we get in local market .They basically are cashing their names .

I think that is totally wrong. The companies should remain transparent while advertising their products .They should not exaggerate their product's qualities just to gain more sales.

In my point of view the business owners should show creativity while advertising their products but should not lie or exaggerate in the name of creativity and fool the customers.

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 an opinion on whether this is positive or negative. However, the development is somewhat limited. The explanation for why companies focus on newness is repetitive, focusing heavily on 'tricking' customers and 'stealing ideas' without exploring broader marketing strategies or consumer psychology. The opinion is clear, but the arguments lack depth and specific examples, relying instead on generalizations about 'elite classes' and 'local markets'. To reach a higher band, you should provide more nuanced reasons and better-developed supporting evidence for your claims.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into short paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. The transition between ideas is often abrupt, and the use of cohesive devices is limited and sometimes mechanical. For instance, the repetition of 'run, run' in the first paragraph is ineffective. While there is a basic structure, the lack of sophisticated linking words makes the flow feel disjointed. Paragraphing is present, but the ideas within the paragraphs are not always clearly connected to a central topic sentence. Improving the use of transition signals (e.g., 'furthermore', 'consequently', 'in contrast') would significantly enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on common, informal phrasing such as 'running in race', 'way more better', and 'cashing their names'. There are also some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'stealing of the original idea' (should be 'plagiarism' or 'copying') and 'huge prices' (should be 'high prices'). While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of less common lexical items and the presence of repetitive, simple vocabulary limit the score. Expanding your vocabulary to include more academic collocations would be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('their is hardly any change'), punctuation errors (spacing before commas), and awkward phrasing ('way more better'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, ensuring correct article usage, and refining your control over complex sentence forms. Reducing the frequency of these errors is essential for moving into the 6.0+ range.

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

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