Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-13
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 this rapidly evolving world, advertising is the main aspect to spread the information about the products to the civilians. However, businesses nowadays are illustrating their new products in an emphasised way. According to me this is a negative development because this raises the expectation of customers.
Businesses in recent times emphasise new products. Moreover, this raises the expectation of individuals because of high expectation of customers they do not not satisfy their need when they actually use the products. For instance, if a customer made his expectation very high and when he experience the actual product he feel that the product is not best when compared to his expectation. According to my point of view this is a negative developement.
This can also affect the trust of the company towards to the new customers because they emphasise their advertising of new products. This can also affect the company's overall economical growth because they will lose the old customers and also the new people will also consider their company as a last choice. For example, if a company advertise their new smartphone and they state that the camera of the smartphone is the best but in reality the camera is decent, when individual actually try that
phone's camera the individuals notice that the camera quality of the mobile is actually decent so the customer's trust will be affected and eventually the people will not trust the company's products.
In conclusion, advertising the new products as the best product is not a good thing. This can affect the trust and expectation of new customers as well as old customers. This will eventually affect's the company's growth.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| 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: explaining why businesses emphasize newness and providing an opinion on whether this is positive or negative. However, the development is limited. The explanation for why businesses do this is somewhat repetitive, focusing almost exclusively on the negative impact on customer expectations rather than exploring the strategic reasons (e.g., market competition or innovation). The argument is consistent, but the ideas lack depth and specific examples are somewhat generic. To reach a higher band, you should expand on the 'why'—such as the pressure to remain competitive in a saturated market—and provide more nuanced reasoning regarding the impact on consumer behavior.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the argument. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or repetitive. For example, the phrase 'This can also affect' is used repeatedly to start sentences, which limits the flow. Transitions between ideas are sometimes abrupt, and the logical progression within paragraphs could be smoother. While the overall structure is logical, the lack of varied linking words and the somewhat simplistic sentence-to-sentence connection prevent a higher score. Improving the variety of cohesive devices would significantly enhance the readability 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 basic terms like 'main aspect', 'new products', and 'good thing'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'economical growth' (should be 'economic growth') and 'illustrating their new products in an emphasised way'. While the meaning is generally clear, there is little attempt to use less common lexical items or idiomatic expressions. To improve, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary related to marketing and consumer psychology, and pay closer attention to word forms and collocations.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include 'advertising is the main aspect to spread the information' (awkward phrasing), 'they do not not satisfy' (repetition/typo), 'when he experience' (subject-verb agreement), and 'affect's the company's growth' (incorrect possessive). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to suggest a lack of control over complex structures. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and avoiding unnecessary word repetition will help improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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